Napoli Look On As The Flaws Of Every Other Serie A Title Contender Are Laid Bare

As they watched this weekend’s Serie A results unfold, the players, staff and supporters of SSC Napoli could not have wished for a better set of scorelines. Their side currently occupy third-place, and over the past three days they have looked on as every other team in the top six spots dropped points. 

It began with Friday night’s Turin derby, a game which saw Juventus deliver the latest in what has been a string of underwhelming performances. The Bianconeri took the lead through Matthijs de Ligt – a player whose qualities were discussed in this previous column – only to see Andrea Belotti ultimately grab an equaliser for Torino. 

Dour Old Lady

It was a game where Max Allegri once again wasted the quality players at his disposal, failing to set his team up for success by limiting it with a negative tactical approach. The Juve boss continues to field Manuel Locatelli in front of the defence, removing the Italy international’s ability to break forward and get into dangerous areas.

By fielding him out of position there, the shortcomings of Adrien Rabiot, Alex Sandro and others are highlighted more than they should be, with none able to add much substance to the attack the way a liberated Locatelli can.

That all leaves Dusan Vlahovic – signed last month for €70 million ($79.66m) – isolated up front. Statistics taken from WhoScored.com underline just how little of an impact the 22-year-old had on the game, recording just 22 touches which was the fewest of any player in both starting XIs. 

Creating just one shooting opportunity for a player you paid that much for is unforgivable, and there has been no indication that Allegri has a plan to change that. Instead, he spent his post-match interview with DAZN noting that Vlahovic only “played one game a week” at Fiorentina and that he needs time “to get used to” playing “every three days.”

That may well be true, but at least La Viola supported the striker, created chances for him and didn’t leave him alone against one of the best defences in Serie A this season. The Old Lady has lots of work to do, and very little of it has to do with the mental and physical conditioning of Dusan Vlahovic. 

Milanese Malaise

Following that dire display from Juve was a string of results that got more surprising as each final whistle blew. At the very top of the table, Milan would somehow find a way to capitulate against a Salernitana side who had managed to claim just 13 points from their previous 23 matches of the season. 

Yet instead of brushing them aside, the Rossoneri became the first league-leader in six years to drop points against the team at the foot of Serie A, a bleak reminder of just how poor this result was. 

It could see Napoli overtake Stefano Pioli’s men in first place, just as their neighbours Inter could have done if they had taken care of business against Sassuolo at San Siro on Sunday evening. 

Instead it was the Neroverdi who claimed all three points and, just like Allegri, Simone Inzaghi was guilty of hindering his team more than he helped them. Suspensions for Marcelo Brozovic and Alessandro Bastoni removed some of his options, but the Inter boss added to those absences by choosing to rest Edin Dzeko and Denzel Dumfries. 

The Nerazzurri have no game in midweek and will face Genoa – who sit 19th – next weekend, a game where Brozovic will be available once again and that rotation would make much more sense. 

Instead, Inzaghi watched on as his weakened side capitulated against a Sassuolo outfit who have also recorded away wins over Juventus and Milan, becoming the first team since Fiorentina back in 1955/56 to hand Italy’s three traditional giants defeats on home soil. 

Broken Bergamaschi

Not to be left out, Fiorentina once again got heavily involved this weekend as they became the only side in the top 10 to record a victory. That it came at the expense of Atalanta was clearly a source of great joy for fans of La Viola, who relish any opportunity to give Gian Piero Gasperini a bad day.

That vitriol stems from some critical comments made by the Atalanta boss, so the Stadio Artemio Franchi truly enjoyed celebrating Krzysztof Piatek’s goal and a red card for an irate Gasperini. 

Without many of their star names, the Bergamaschi simply had no answer for the intensity and fortitude of Vincenzo Italiano’s men, eventually losing 1-0 and failing to close the gap to the top four. 

Roma and Lazio were held to surprising draws too, meaning the flaws of every top side were exposed over the course of three days, leaving Allegri, Pioli, Inzaghi and Gasperini in need of rapid solutions.

Meanwhile, Napoli fans will just be hoping that Luciano Spalletti’s name doesn’t need to be added to that list when they visit Cagliari on Monday evening.