The derby of the absentees (7 on each side between injured, suspended and called up for the African Cup of Nations) was won by Napoli on the wire at the end of a game in which Mazzarri's team still clearly shows its tactical and athletic limits and clearly shows that it is not cured of its ailments. (THE CHRONICLE)
Salernitana took the lead and with a match conduct exclusively based on defense, faced their opponents without major problems. Inzaghi's team was bent by two fatal distractions in the recovery phase of both halves and had a lot to complain about how the game ended. The theme of the race is extremely simple and straightforward. Salernitaa constantly kept all ten of their men behind the line of the ball and Napoli attacked, almost never managing to find the spaces needed to put their opponents in difficulty. Inzaghi's men tried to take advantage of the counterattack on the rare occasions when they managed to organize a restart after putting a dam on the Azzurri's offensive attempts.
This tactic paid off in the first half in the 28th minute when Candreva received the ball after an offensive developed on the right and unleashed a curling shot that sent the ball into the net, slipping under the crossbar. Napoli immediately tried to react and Mazzarri gave instructions to Gaetano and Cajuste to place themselves closer to the penalty area so as to be able to flank Kvaratskhelia with Simeone and not leave the Argentine too isolated. The second half had just begun when Napoli found the equaliser. Simeone pounces on the ball that comes to him from the right and Fazio hits his right leg. Referee Marinelli, recalled by the VAR, after checking the video, awarded the penalty kick that Politano converted.
In the second half, Mazzarri tried to give more incisiveness to the attack and sent on Raspadori in place of Gaetano. The tactical theme of the race, however, does not change one iota. The only positive note for Napoli's game is the growth of Kvaratskhelia who Mazzarri authorizes to roam the field at will and who offers his teammates some good plays. The problem, however, for the Azzurri is always to pierce the Salerno rearguard which is closed in a hedgehog and is always lined up with the five defenders in line and with the midfielders playing close to their own penalty area. At the end of the match, chants of protest were raised from the stands addressed to the team and the club by the fans disappointed by a new colorless performance by the Italian champions.
Two minutes from the end, Kvaratskhelia had a chance to close out the game but his close-range effort was blocked by Ochoa. A new setback seemed to materialize for the Azzurri, but in the final assault, in the 50th minute of the second half, a scrum was created in the Salernitana penalty area and Rrahmani was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a Raspadori header and put the ball in the net. The victory restores some confidence to Napoli and punishes Salernitana a little too much for the second time in a row on the wire, after the defeat also last week against Juventus in injury time. For Mazzarri and especially for the club, called upon to strengthen the squad on the market, there is a lot of work to do because beyond the three points won today there are no other positive notes for the Azzurri.
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