Joe Fischetti

Dries Mertens played the full 90 minutes in Galatasaray’s 2-1 victory over Istanbulspor on Christmas Day. The Belgian played a number of dangerous crosses from the set piece, two of which resulted in goals. Bafétimbi Gomis opened the scoring in the 15th minute after Mertens picked out the Frenchman with an out-swinging corner kick. Gomis doubled Galatasaray’s lead in the 37th minute from another Mertens corner kick. The Galatasaray number 10 played a deep cross to Fredrik Midtsjø at the second post. The Norwegian midfielder played the ball back into the danger area, where Gomis pounced to make the score…

On Wednesday, Napoli played the second of two friendlies at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The Partenopei took on LOSC Lille – currently ranked 7th in Ligue 1.First HalfLineup (4-3-3): Meret; Mario Rui, Juan Jesus, Østigård, Di Lorenzo; Elmas, Lobotka, Ndombele; Kvaratskhelia, Osimhen, PolitanoWith Matteo Politano back in the squad, Luciano Spalletti returned to the starting XI he fielded against Crystal Palace, with Giacomo Raspadori starting on the bench.Lille, led by ex-Roma coach Paulo Fonseca, found joy with the long ball early in the first half. In the fifth minute, Alan Virginius got behind the Napoli back line to receive…

On Saturday, Napoli played the first of two friendlies at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.  The Partenopei took on Villarreal – currently ranked 9th in La Liga.Pre-MatchIn the buildup to the match, the official Villarreal social media channels posted videos featuring some of Napoli’s most famous tourist attractions, including Castel Dell’Ovo, Galleria Umberto I, Piazza del Plebiscito and the Quartieri Spagnoli - a stark contrast to the safety warnings issued by Napoli’s Champions League opponents.Before the match, Napoli Vice President Edoardo De Laurentiis presented former Napoli players Raul Albiol and Pepe Reina with 2022/23 Napoli kits featuring their names and the…

Giacomo Raspadori scored another brace as Napoli closed the Winter Football Series by Regnum with a 3-1 victory over Crystal  Palace.  Here are three takeaways selected by Forza Napoli Press.Back to What We KnowAfter experimenting with different formations and player combinations in the friendly against Antalyaspor, Luciano Spalletti returned to his preferred 4-3-3 formation against Crystal Palace.Though Palace led through 33 minutes, Napoli were clearly the stronger side to that point. Spalletti's men pressed high and constantly forced Palace to boot the ball long, often conceding possession right back to Napoli.In the possession phase, the Partenopei moved quickly, on and…

Faouzi Ghoulam has been without a club since his contract with Napoli expired on June 30. On Saturday, Ghoulam suited up for his former club, Saint-Étienne, who he played four seasons with (97 appearances) before joining Napoli. Ghoulam replaced Léo Pétrot in the 71st minute in the friendly match against Grenoble. Approximately ten minutes later, Saint-Étienne were awarded their second penalty kick of the match, which Ghoulam converted to secure a 3-1 victory.

After the friendly match against Villareal on December 17th, Napoli will welcome LOSC Lille to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for a fourth and final friendly match before the Serie A campaign resumes in January. The former club of striker Victor Osimhen will visit the Maradona on December 21st at 20:00 local time (14:00 EST).