Napoli appeared to be hung over as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of at re-hot Monza, who were absolutely devastating on the counter-attack. Here are four takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.
Mix and Match
For the second consecutive match since Napoli were mathematically declared champions, Luciano Spalletti featured a strong starting XI with a healthy amount of rotation. For the match against Fiorentina, Spalletti made five changes to the squad he fielded against Udinese, including starting Pierluigi Gollini in goal, Leo Østigård at centre back, Diego Demme at regista and Giacomo Raspadori at left wing. The Napoli coach made six changes ahead of the Monza match, including playing Juan Jesus at centre back, Bartosz Bereszyński at right back and Alessio Zerbin at left wing.
With the changes, Spalletti was able to assess the quality of his bench while rewarding players who don’t feature often for their efforts and commitment in training. However, that caused the team to be somewhat disjoined, particularly on the wings.
Spalletti’s preferred combination on the left side is Mario Rui and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Instead, Mathias Olivera continued to play over the injured Mario Rui and Alessio Zerbin made his first ever Serie A start. Spalletti’s preferred combination on the right side is captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo and one of Hirving Lozano and Matteo Politano. Lozano is out for the balance of the season with a knee sprain and Politano only just returned from injury, so Eljif Elmas started on the right wing. Meanwhile, Bereszyński made his first start for Napoli, affording Giovanni Di Lorenzo a rare rest.
Understandably, with so many changes, Napoli lacked their usual fluidity and creativity in attack. The Partenopei looked far more dangerous after the introductions of Kvaratskhelia, Politano, Di Lorenzo and Raspadori in the second half.
On the Break
Kim Min-Jae was sorely missed in defense, with Amir Rrahmani and Juan Jesus struggling with the pace of Carlos Augusto, Parick Ciurria and Dany Mota. Both of Monza’s goals were scored on the break and on both occasions Monza played brilliantly out of the press.
On the opening goal, Dany Mota played a clever flick to avoid the press of Stanislav Lobotka before Augusto outran André-Frank Zambo Anguissa to the final third. Four passes later Dany Mota opened the scoring. On the second goal, Matteo Pessina, who partnered with Nicolò Rovella to boss the midfield, also avoided the press of Lobotka. On the spin, Amando Izzo played a perfect long ball over the top to Dany Mota, who outran Rrahmani into the area. After a decent save by Gollini, Andrea Petagna slotted a shot into the bottom corner to score against his former club.
Had it not been for Gollini, Monza would have tripled their lead shortly after the restart, once again attacking on the break. Piotr Zielinski over-hit a pass intended for Olivera – one of many unforced errors from Napoli in the match. With two passes, Monza moved the ball the length of the pitch before Gollini denied Dany Mota.
Hung Over
Despite all the changes, Spalletti still fielded a squad that featured his preferred midfield trio behind Serie A’s leading goal-scorer. Playing against a motivated and well-trained Monza side, gli Azzurri looked like a team who more than enjoyed the festivities after the victory over Fiorentina.
Though Napoli attempted 20 shots, they only managed an xG of 1.1. Most of the seven shots that hit the target were straight at Michele Di Gregorio. The Monza shot-stopper made a fine save on Olivera in the 63rd minute, demonstrating why Alessio Cragno hasn’t been able to crack the Monza starting XI.
Penalized
Napoli had three legitimate shouts for a penalty kick, but all fell on deaf ears. In the 62nd minute, Bereszyński dispossessed Augusto in the Monza area. The back-up right back went to ground as he was passing to Osimhen, suggesting he might have been caught by Augusto on the follow-through. However, VAR official Francesco Fourneau did not call match official Francesco Cosso to the monitor.
Five minutes later, Di Lorenzo’s cross was headed clear to Zielinski, who touched the ball down to Osimhen in the area. The Nigerian appeared to be caught by Pessina while attempting to play the return pass but once again the penalty was not given and once again Cosso was not called to the monitor.
Finally, in the 72nd minute, Matteo Politano ran at Dany Mota in the Monza area. The Monza forward, whose arms were draped over Politano’s shoulders, appeared to clip the Napoli winger’s legs before he went to ground. Once again, the penalty was not awarded, nor was Cosso called to the monitor.
