Amir Rrahmani’s second-half header into the bottom corner was the only goal in Napoli’s 1-0 victory over FC Augsburg. Forza Napoli Press explores three takeaways from the Partenopei’s penultimate friendly match of the summer.
Not So Clinical
After the match, Napoli manager Rudi Garcia expressed his satisfaction with the 1-0 victory. “I’m happy with the match. Augsburg showed quality and physicality . It took us time to respond physically but we did it. I had clearer indications on what to do with this squad.” However, his team could and should have scored more.
Napoli created two quality opportunities to score in the opening quarter of the match. In the 6th minute, Giacomo Raspadori picked out Matteo Politano with a long through-ball into the right channel. The right winger had only the keeper to beat but didn’t get enough power on the chip. Eljif Elmas was first to the rebound, side-footing a powerful shot on target, but centre back Frederik Winther cleared the ball off the line.
In the 16th minute, Hirving Lozano was fouled in the Napoli half but the official played a smart advantage. Elmas played a quick diagonal pass forward to Mathias Olivera on the left side of the park. The left back slipped the ball through to Giovanni Simeone, who was clear on goal. The Argentinian had only Finn Dahmen to beat but the keeper got a hand on the shot.
Politano nearly opened the scoring in the dying minutes of the half, but the winger’s tiragiro curled narrowly wide of the far post. Politano would later exit the match due to a minor ankle injury. Meanwhile, Alessio Zerbin had two chances in the second half, but the substitute missed the target on the first and caught too much of the goal on the second.
Kim Replacements
Kim Min-jae’s replacement Natan watched the match from the touchline, sat between his Brazilian compatriot (and translator) Juan Jesus and Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis. While Natan will be tasked with replacing the quality of Kim on the pitch, the 22-year-old will not be asked to replace Kim’s leadership. That responsibility will land on the very capable shoulders of Amir Rrahmani
The captain of the Kosovo national team scored the only goal of the match while remaining very solid at the back. In the second half, he played a 50-yard, cross-field pass to Alessio Zerbin with pinpoint accuracy, leading to a chance for the winger. Constantly joking with teammates in training, Rrahmani appears ready to take Natan under his wing.
New Midfielder
Garcia closed the match in a 4-4-2 formation featuring Diego Demme and Leo Østigård in the centre of the midfield. The Norwegian defender started the match on the left side of the centre-back pairing. However, with André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Piotr Zielinski not in the squad, Østigård shifted forward in the 63rd minute, when Hirving Lozano and Stanislav Lobotka were replaced by Zerbin and Juan Jesus, respectively.
