Cagliari-Napoli on the pitch at 3pm.
A debut in Serie A as a coach for Francesco Calzona, a debut in the championship in 2024 for Victor Osimhen who is making a clear recovery after a slight flu.
These are two of the elements that characterize Napoli's trip to Cagliari, the first step of the 14 championship matches that the new Italian coach has ahead of him to try to climb to European qualification for next season.
The dream remains the super comeback towards fourth place, today occupied by Bologna who however have played two more games: the real objective is Atalanta, fifth, nine points ahead.
An abyss that Calzona however wants to face by asking his team to always give their best.
The coach did not speak today, but continued his work on his fifth day as Italian coach after his debut against Barcelona.
There Osimhen had a flash that earned him a draw in the Champions League, now the coach wants to start seeing a more orderly, compact game, ready to defend but above all to find the best way to shoot.
The statistics of the Champions League evening are in fact impressive: a single shot made by Napoli, that of Osimhen's goal, to which is added only the header just wide by Anguissa in the final.
An attack without conclusions is a failed attack, which Calzona does not accept.
This is why the coach demands a team that doesn't build just to give a ball to the left for Kvaratskhelia or to the right for Osimhen in view of their cross.
We must also focus on central penetration or outside shots, especially against the Sardinian team who have lost four of their last five matches, conceding 13 goals.
Calzona therefore wants the first real answers on the pitch from a Napoli team from which he expects without appeal two victories against Cagliari and Sassuolo and then presents itself in a more solid manner for the match against Juventus.
The new manager demands teamwork from everyone, as seen from the poorly made substitution of Kvaratskhelia against Barcelona, taken over by Lingstrom who demonstrated the same speed and greater dialogue with his teammates in attack.
For the Georgian there will be a chance for redemption in Cagliari, meeting up with Osimhen who trained today after a day of fever and is the favorite to play.
The changes concern the suspended Di Lorenzo, replaced by Mazzocchi, but also the choice for the third midfielder in addition to Lobotka and Anguissa: Cajuste was not convincing, Traoré more but he is not yet at the top physically, so part of the match could fall to Zielisnki, who would like a good end to the season before saying goodbye to Napoli at the end of the season.
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