Conte rediscovered his Napoli after the disappointment and anger of defeat at Bologna. The result of the match which ended in a landslide victory for the Azzurri (3-1) is an indication of the rediscovery of harmony in the group, which tonight is also worthy of reclaiming first place in the standings, looking forward to tomorrow’s matches against Inter and Roma.
If there was any discord between the bench and the team, in the three days of preparation for this match with a full squad Conte must have found the right words to regroup and stimulate the winning spirit that characterized the players last season, culminating in a surprise scudetto win.
It’s also true that Napoli dominated their opponents in the first half (3-0 result in the 45th minute tonight) but clearly handed over dominance of the game to Atalanta in the second half. With a series of substitutions, Palladino completely turned his side around and the results were clear to see as Bergamo’s players continued to maintain possession of the ball and created several goal-scoring opportunities.
Conte, partly because he was forced to miss out due to injury but more to encourage his team’s attacking play to be better and more sustainable, changed formation and relied on a 3-4-2-1 formation with Neres and Lang supporting Hojlund. And the results can be seen immediately. The team is proactive and determined, and the Danish striker is no longer isolated in attack as in previous matches.
Furthermore, Napoli with their positioning and aggressiveness succeeded in making Atalanta’s offensive maneuvers sterile because everyone withdrew to cover the passing line and most importantly because the Azzurri helped each other. And for the people of Bergamo, there’s not much that can be done.
In the first half, Napoli scored three goals while Palladino’s team was unable to force Milinkovic-Savic to even make a save.
Neres was released in the attack and drove Ahanor crazy who barely managed to fight or stop him. In the 16th minute the Brazilian capitalized on a clever chance from Hojlund, appearing in the penalty area and beating Carnesecchi with a low shot; then he doubled his lead in the 38th minute using McTominay’s pass and finished with a low diagonal shot. Gli Azzurri’s third goal was created in the 44th minute. Di Lorenzo attacked on the right, entered the penalty area and served in the middle with the likeness of Lang putting the ball into the net with a header.
To give impetus to the team, Palladino replaced Ahanor with Kossonou and Pasalic with Scamacca who immediately became the protagonist. In the 7th minute the striker anticipated Rrahmani from Bellanova’s cross and scored with a volley. Apart from the goal, Scamacca’s presence on the pitch changed the face of Atalanta who, also taking advantage of Napoli’s decline in athleticism, became more threatening and almost scored through De Ketelaere and again through Scamacca. Despite suffering, the Azzurri managed to hold off Palladino’s attacks and bring invaluable success to revive the team after recent disappointments and controversies.
MATCH REPORT
ANSA Agency Serie A: Fiorentina-Juventus 1-1 – Football – Ansa.it Racist chants at Vlahovic. Kean’s crossbar, Kostic’s goal in first half stoppage time, Mandragora’s opener early in the second half (ANSA) Reproduction protected by law © Copyright ANSA
