It is since the home match against Genoa, since Hojlund’s goal, that an attacker or winger has not scored. But what are the causes?
The topic is delicate. It is so much so that Antonio Conte did not take the question about the shortcomings of Napoli’s attack very well in the press conference to present the match against Eintracht. “Before these two matches (Lecce and Como, ed) we were talking about the lack of solidity in defense, we didn’t concede a goal for two games and now we’re talking about the attack. We always look for the glass half empty despite all the difficulties we continue to have. It’s logical that more goals are needed. Anguissa scored more than last year. Let’s try to be serious”, the coach replied. The problem is that the Azzurri also ended the Champions League match against the Germans dry. A dry 0-0 which risks compromising their progress in the group and which above all marks a finish that is anything but positive.
a month ago
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Exactly a month has passed since the last goal scored by an attacker, whether a center forward or winger. We have to go back to six matches ago, Napoli-Genoa on 5 October. Ekhator opens the scoring, Anguissa equalizes and Hojlund gets Conte’s team out of trouble. There was the break for the national teams, from which the Dane himself returned bruised and this was undoubtedly the most incisive factor in the abstinence that occurred. Upon returning, the Azzurri lost 1-0 to Torino and then 6-2 to PSV; in the rout McTominay scored a brace. The 3-1 over Inter was the triumph of the midfield: De Bruyne, Anguissa and the Scotsman regulated the Nerazzurri. “Virtue lies in the middle.” In Lecce it was the Cameroonian who settled the match, before the two 0-0 draws with Como and Eintracht that bring us to today.
the analysis
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The causes are multiple and are mainly based on absences. Hojlund’s is the most recent, but we shouldn’t forget Lukaku who hasn’t played a single minute of the season yet and is expected to return next month. Then, there are the problems of those present. Lucca’s impact is minimal at the moment (one goal), Ambrosino hasn’t had enough space to be evaluated. Moving on to the exteriors, the state of the art in terms of implementation is dramatic: Politano, Lang and Neres have not yet found the first centre. Although Conte has demonstrated that you don’t need tons of goals to excel, the fast is starting to be of a certain importance. An unsustainable situation, in the long term.
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