Gameday 2: Napoli 1 – Como 2

Napoli is known for playing well—and not losing—at home. The Maradona is their sanctuary.

Need a win? Let’s play a home game.

Need to break a losing streak? Let’s play a home game.

So there were some high hopes going into the first home game of the year.

Napoli fans are still trying to figure out if they like the new head coach. Many think his style of play isn’t fun to watch, nor is it a style that wins big games. But here we were, at home, after winning the first game of the season and looking to keep it going.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch this one live, so I watched the replay.

One downfall of modern technology is that if you don’t mute ALL your notifications, you’re going to find out news you don’t want to find out. While at a family gathering, my phone buzzed, and I saw the score.

The final score.

But I wanted to be surprised. I wanted to watch it and pretend it was live.

That was out the window.

I still wanted to watch it, but it just wasn’t as pressing, which is why this recap is a little late.

Napoli came out looking flat. The defense of Marin, Rrahmani, Olivera, and Di Lorenzo just didn’t seem cohesive, and when you’re playing a defensive style, that is important.

The first goal Napoli gave up was a good shot, but the Como player was way too open in the 18-yard box. You could blame the defense, or you could blame the keeper, but overall, it was a solid goal. A more cohesive defense probably wouldn’t have allowed it.

Down 1–0, Napoli fought back and tied it up.

Great goal by Rasmus Højlund, who is going to be key to this offense—especially when Allegri, the head coach, plays such a defensive style of football.

Tied 1–1, and less than five minutes later, a bad pass—a pass that never should have been made—by Rafa Marin led to Como taking a 2–1 lead.

Painful to watch.

Napoli gave up two goals in the first half, and one, if not both, were due to poor decision-making!

As the game continued, Como continued to possess the ball and attack, while Napoli sat back and looked for their chances.

A few breaks Napoli had were basically one Napoli player against the Como defense. The team was sitting so far back that it was hard to press forward.

The last 15 minutes of the game were Napoli trying to get that tying goal—the way I wish they’d play for the full game.

Then, finally, Napoli scored to tie it up!

The crowd was excited. Even knowing the outcome, I got excited.

But after a review…

Offside.

Goal disallowed.

And the game ended 2–1.

Usually, when a team loses, you can complain about how poorly they played, what they did wrong, etc. But honestly, Napoli played pretty well. They attacked. They had 10 shots, although only 2 were on target.

Their defense didn’t do great, giving up 19 shots, and the midfield seems a little lost under the new coach.

My Team Review

Attack: 7 out of 10

The attack was non-existent for most of the game. They had some nice runs, but with the wings dropping back, they weren’t able to break away against Como’s high line.

When they had possession and were able to build an attack, they looked good, but there just wasn’t enough of it. Not including, of course, the final 10–15 minute rush to get the draw.

Højlund did what he could. Many times, he was on a 1-on-3 break, and you’re not going to win many of those.

Lang and Santos played well on the left, but Lang kept dropping back way too much. Politano did okay, but again, he was out of position too much.

Politano gets a lot of hate, but when he’s being asked to play defense instead of offense, this is what you get.

Overall, the offense gets a 7 out of 10.

Midfield: 8 out of 10

I don’t know about the midfield.

They were quiet. They did their part, but with Allegri’s style of play, they’re asked to play defense more, and then they get overshadowed… or something.

Lobotka seems out of position and hasn’t found his groove. Anguissa is playing okay. KDB was solid off the bench, and McTominay hasn’t found his place yet.

He’s such a hard worker and fun to watch, but we need more from him.

Overall: 8 out of 10.

Defense: 6 out of 10

The defense needs some help.

We need our defenders back healthy.

Rafa Marin is okay, but he shouldn’t be starting right now. Hopefully, our new center back will be ready to play on Saturday.

Olivera and Spinazzola looked a little lost on the left side. Olivera had a couple of nice attacking opportunities that he couldn’t finish.

Marin made a huge mistake.

Never pass the ball in front of your own goal when you’re being pressured!

Rrahmani is our best defender, but he can’t do it all.

Meret played decently in goal.

Overall, the defense gets a 6 out of 10.

Overall: 6.5 out of 10

They played well but just couldn’t get enough going on offense.

Every attack, they seemed to get stuck trying to break through a deep defensive line. But with Napoli dropping back so much, they had no other option because the counterattack just wasn’t there.

It’s a tough loss to take.

Overall team score: 6.5 out of 10.

Next Up: Inter and Arsenal

Napoli is up against Inter this Saturday, and it will be the hardest game of the season so far.

In Milan, without our star player Scott McTominay, we go to battle.

Then, on Wednesday, the Champions League starts, and we play Arsenal, last year’s English Premier League winner and one of the favorites again this year.

It’s going to be a rough week.

Hopefully, we can pull off a win in one of these two games. If not a win, then at least a draw!

The worst part of this whole thing is that they’re without their star, Scott McTominay, who had a “minor” procedure and is out for a month.

Going to be a long September.