Naples, the regret of the lost points and the push of Spalletti

To sum up, those points left to Maradona, during the championship, could be missing. Then, the swearing of the environment would be legitimate, because Napoli stumbled a couple of times, in Fuorigrotta, complicating a path that began with the “all in” formula: 25 points after the first 9 days, with 8 consecutive victories, interrupted by the draw at the Olimpico, against Roma. Then, the switch was turned off and the darkness materialized on the dreams of the Neapolitan people.

Three consecutive defeats, at Maradona, against Atalanta, Empoli and Spezia, could have killed anyone. But not the Spalletti team which, over time, has been able to metabolize the infections from Covid-19, the many injuries and that drop in condition, physiological for everyone towards the end of the first round. And since January, Napoli have resumed their journey, staying in the Scudetto area and participating in this exciting moment that the championship is experiencing. On balance, Spalletti is missing at least six points, if we want to consider only the defeats remedied against Empoli and Spezia which had the implication of the real mockery. If they wanted to give something, even two draws would have gone luxury, but so be it.

Heavy goals

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They are the ones that Victor Osimhen is guaranteeing. Verona’s brace revitalized both the Nigerian striker and the entire team who, at the Bentegodi, put things back in place and the standings after the home defeat against Milan. For the first time, Osimhen scored against one of the top ten teams in the standings: he had never happened to him before, in fact, in head-to-head matches. What he misses, however, is the goal against Maradona. The history of the championship tells that the last internal goal of the Nigerian international dates back to last October 17, against Turin. An abstinence that has now lasted for five months and that the attacker will try to stop against Udinese. Spalletti necessarily needs not to leave other points to Maradona in order not to affect the championship race.

Tactical flexibility

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There is no more time to wait, be it Insigne or Zielinski. The two were initially kept on the bench in Verona. The coach opted for a different form from the usual 4-2-3-1, using a more functional 4-3-3. With the additions of Anguissa, in midfield, and Lozano on the left-handed flank, Napoli seemed better organized, obtaining a very heavy victory. Osimhen himself was involved more in the middle of the game, it was no coincidence that he scored the two goals as a true center-forward, inside the area, and not on the counterattack. It remains to be seen whether the coach will repeat the experiment of 4-3-3 or will return to 4-2-3-1 by proposing Zielinski and Insigne again. However, this is the most probable hypothesis. Beating Udinese is everything for the near future of Napoli, considering that Milan is expected from the away match in Cagliari which, at the moment, does not seem prohibitive.

Push Maradona

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The return to effective capacity represents a good pick for Napoli’s ambitions. It will serve them to awe their opponents, to undermine their stubborn defensive attitude, which is usually the case of mid-low ranking teams whenever they face Napoli. Optimism grows, but it is well contained, talking about the Scudetto is legitimate without losing sight, however, of that determination and character that Neapolitan players often lacked in the key moments of the season. In summary, the conditions for an evanescent ending are all there. Now, it’s up to Spalletti to put together the right combinations to keep the ambitions of the environment up until the last minute of this Serie A.