Lazio Open Napoli’s Wounds to Close Theirs
Lazio’s visit to Naples certainly lived up to its billing. Last Saturday, the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona hosted probably the best match out of the thirty played in Serie A so far. It was an entertaining, end-to-end contest. But most importantly, it wasn’t one sided, unlike Inter’s demolition of Fiorentina or Milan’s victory over Roma, which received the same pre-match attention but ended up strictly one sided to the Milanese sides favor.
It’s important to mention that Lazio finished last season second in the charts, so this was essentially a clash between last season’s two strongest teams, as the league table never lies. Even though Lazio won it 2-1, it could have quite easily been 4-1 had the VAR not disallowed another two Lazio goals in the second half.
Results often sway judgements, and surely Rudi Garcia will feel the effect of that during the international break, as critics come at him at full swing. But Napoli’s overall performance wasn’t disastrous. They enjoyed big spells of possession, but transitioning away from Luciano Spalletti’s heavy possession based game and into a more direct playing style was always going to take time. Add to that the departure of Kim Min-jae to Bayern Munich, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia not being fully fit, and it becomes easier to sympathize with Garcia.
Napoli actually started on the front foot and pinned Lazio back. Frank Anguissa, and especially Stanislav Lobotka, enjoyed a solid outing on the ball, but it was Piotr Zieliński’s movement into space that gave Napoli their biggest edge in Lazio’s final third. Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s underlaps on the right and Mathías Olivera’s on the left helped add to Napoli’s dominance, but the front three were mostly uninspired against Lazio’s solid defensive unit, and hence Napoli may have knocked on Lazio’s door, but they didn’t cause them enough scares.
If Napoli didn’t struggle on the ball, they certainly struggled off it. A big part of their strength last season was in their organized press to regain the ball. So far this season, they have looked off the pace in that department, and Saturday was no different. That, combined with the adventurous positioning of the full backs and the defensive duo’s high line, left them suspect to counters.
When a team doesn’t create chances in possession, and is open on transitions, the chances of a defeat greatly increase, especially to a team lethal on the counter attack like Lazio. A managerial cliché to defend Garcia would be that these things take time and that he, indeed, is not a magician.
One magician who was present on the pitch is Luis Alberto. The Lazio playmaker hardly put a foot wrong all night. His calm and composed performance was reminiscent of someone enjoying a kick about in a five-a-side with friends rather than competing in a top Serie A clash. His best flair moments were also the most decisive ones, as he scored the first goal with a backheel, and ‘assisted’ the second with a delicious dummy that brought back memories of Rivaldo in the 2002 World Cup final.
Alberto’s top class performance deserved a special highlight, but so did Ciro Immobile, Felipe Anderson, Mattia Zaccagni, and Matteo Guendouzi. Immobile and Anderson played their roles perfectly all night, helping launch one Lazio counter attack after the other, and making use of Alberto’s magical passes to full effect. Zaccagni came into life in the second half, around the same time that Guendouzi came on the pitch, and their pace and directness after the second goal threatened a bigger rout of last season’s champions.
Another two worthy of praise are the center back duo of Alessio Romagnoli and Nicolò Casale. Already on a high after their call ups to the national team from the new boss Spalletti, the solid defensive partners frustrated Osimhen all night as he struggled to esecape their firm grip.
When the majority of individuals are highlighted for praise, then a bigger praise should go to organization of the group, and to the coach. Lazio were a very solid unit, remained narrow and compact, and patiently waited for their openings to break at pace.
After taking the lead for a second time, Lazio had the upper hand and their waves of direct attacks meant Napoli were fortunate that they didn’t lose by a bigger margin. In a way, Napoli’s somewhat adventurous playing style played into their hands, which might help explain why this win was Lazio’s first points on the table.
Maurizio Sarri had spent the summer turning down his president’s transfer suggestions, so he’ll likely feel vindicated by this result. It should help him breathe easier going into the international break, even if his smoking habit won’t help. While Garcia will seek refuge in the fact that it was only one misstep at the start of a long journey to defend Napoli’s title. He should, however, be wary that even though he may not be a magician, he’s still expected to keep Napoli’s spark going.