Napoli says goodbye to the top of the table. Defeated at Maradona by Lazio, who had eliminated the Azzurri from the Italian Cup last Thursday, Conte’s team leaves the provisional lead to Atalanta and maintains a one-point lead over Lazio itself, as well as over Inter and Fiorentina who, however, have to recover the match interrupted due to illness in Bove.
The hero of the evening is Isaksen who capitalized in the best way on one of the few scoring opportunities created by the two teams during the match.
The match is in fact characterized by particularly intense tactics. Baroni decides to field a front-wheel drive Lazio with Dia alongside Castellanos on the offensive front while Zaccagni is mainly brought in to lend a hand in the midfield. However, the French-Senegalese is also called upon to make a continuous sacrifice in shielding Lobotka when Napoli’s action starts, in order to slow down the Slovakian’s movement and thus give the midfielders time to cover the passing lines.
In the first half, after a sprint start by Napoli which yielded a good opportunity for McTominay whose shot was blocked by Provedel, the Biancocelesti maintained a clear dominance of the game for a long time with continuous ball possession.
The bold attitude of Baroni’s men materializes with a conclusion from Isaksen which forces Meret to make a difficult save to deflect the ball into a corner.
Then it was Napoli who came out and came close to taking the lead first with a diagonal shot from Politano and then with a free kick from the edge of the box from Kvaratskhelia which grazed Provedel’s goal post.
The tactical theme of the match does not change in the second half. None of the teams manages to prevail clearly. The chances of scoring are few and almost never sensational, except for a great shot by Dele-Bashiru who hits the crossbar with a shot from distance in the 6th minute.
On the other offensive front Anguissa in turn hits Provedel’s goal post with a header.
The turning point of the match came in the 33rd minute. Noslin takes possession of the ball on the left side of the pitch and serves Isaksen on the opposite side with a diagonal that cuts across the entire field. The Dane overtakes Olivera in the melee duel and finishes with a left-footed shot that sends the ball into the back of the net.
Napoli sketches a reaction that Lazio contains without major problems. In the final minutes Conte sends Neres, Simeone and Raspadori onto the pitch but the Azzurri appear tired and confused, unlike the Lazio players who maintain clarity and concreteness until the end. Lazio takes the three points and further fuels the dreams of a championship to be played to the end in the highest areas of the table.
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