Raspadori hits the post and misses a penalty. Red to Lopez for protests in the second half. Overwhelming superiority of the Italian champions
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handles50
– NAPLES
Good first for Rudi Garcia at Maradona. As a French opponent he had never won in this stadium, but he succeeds on his first attempt with a convincing performance from his Napoli team which seems to have picked up where it left off in the spring. Sparkling game, an Osimhen that makes the difference and other protagonists who are finding the best condition. And the coach indulges his boys’ desire to have fun by proposing a 4-2-4 in the final with Simeone alongside the Nigerian scorer. A soft Sassuolo too compliant and conditioned in the second half also by the expulsion of Maxime Lopez who decides to insult the referee and leave the match. Sarri’s wounded Lazio arrives on Saturday, we’ll see if the Azzurri will be able to continue their clear path.
without kvara
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Garcia prefers to keep the Georgian on the bench who is not yet in the best of shape. In his place Raspadori who uses every moment to stand out and after a minute hits the post, with Consigli beaten, with a nice insertion from the left in the middle to pick up the excellent suggestion from captain Di Lorenzo. In short, Napoli restarts from its certainties and Sassuolo appears soft in the contrasts and in the first half hour the Italian champions suffer a lot. Above all, the right-wing chain with Di Lorenzo and Politano continually creates difficulties for the Emilian defense. In one of these situations Vina breaks down into the area on Politano, the penalty foul appears quite clear, not for Guia who has to be called back by var Chiffi to assign the shot from eleven meters. Osimhen shows up on the spot and with a powerful cross right foot he brings his goals to three in this championship and there are 20 in 2023: none better in Europe. Napoli enjoys dribbling by marking a territorial superiority: a few occasions but the doubling does not arrive. And in the second part of the half, Sassuolo tries to raise the center of gravity but without finding space in the blue defence. A header from Tressoldi from a corner is the only time the guests get close to Meret’s posts.
outside lopez
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At the beginning of the second half Maxime Lopez gets kicked out by Guia for having used some offensive and particularly heavy phrases against the referee who directly flashes the red light, with the Frenchman not batting an eyelid and leaving. The episode complicates Dionisi’s plans. Who accelerates the changes and switches to a 4-4-1 to limit the damage. The second penalty also arrives because Erlic jumps from a corner with a high arm and intercepts the trajectory: this time Guia has no doubts. Osimhen gives the shot to Raspadori, but the emotion for the old teammates plays a bad joke on the Bolognese who shoots high. Napoli does not break down and continues to grind the game. In the meantime Kvaratskhelia enters and with a slalom of his he packs an assist for Di Lorenzo who scores as a true striker. The rest is academia.
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