This week, we’re dedicating this full column to league leaders Napoli due to their incredible 5-1 victory over Juventus.
By Matteo Bonetti, US Serie A expert
Juve’s Troubles
It was another dark moment for Serie A over the weekend, as Juventus were handed a 15 point deduction in the standings following their involvement in shady accounting practices – something which involved inflating player transfers as a way to boost capital gains. As it stands, the Bianconeri currently sit mid-table on the FotMob app. None of this is set in stone, however, as Juve are appealing to the sporting court and hoping to get the penalty reduced.
In terms of the actual football, Juventus hosted Atalanta in a game that became a welcome distraction to all the negativity surrounding the club. Max Allegri’s team played one of their more entertaining games of the season, finishing with a 3-3 scoreline. Instead of playing their usual pragmatic style, Allegri finally shifted up a gear and had his team successfully match the pace and intensity of Atalanta.
The Juventus players showed plenty of heart and pride, playing with professionalism in a period where you wouldn’t fault them for being distracted with the current situation that has engulfed the club. Ángel Di MarÍa and Arek Milik were particularly impressive. The Argentine World Cup winner looked unstoppable in the first half, with clever movements and dynamism. Milik finished off a beautiful passing sequence by dispatching a pinpoint volley into the bottom corner. This is the type of Juve performance that we’ve been desperate to see more consistently – a team that is aesthetically pleasing and as clichéd as this may sound, plays to win.
A Nigerian takeover in the scoring charts
Two Nigerians sit at the top of the Serie A Capocannoniere standings, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman. While Osimhen’s output isn’t really a shock, as he’s finally playing more regular football, Lookman has been a welcome surprise for Atalanta.
Victor Osimhen has finally had a stretch of games at Napoli without serious injury and he’s looking like the best striker in the league. Against local rivals Salernitana, he scored once again in Napoli’s 2-0 victory. That now makes it 13 goals in 15 league appearances to go with three assists. His goals have come from all sorts of angles too – from bullet headers to world class volleys, low driven finishes while running at full pace and curling finesse shots into the top corner. That’s why the Nigerian striker has looked unplayable – there really isn’t a bulletproof way to defend him. He’s lightning quick and devastating on the counter, so it’s a massive risk to play a high defensive line against Napoli. Most teams drop deep into a low block to limit the spaces in the final third against the Neapolitan possession game (currently the best in the league at over 60%), which allows Osimhen to show off his aerial ability. His leaping and timing on headers, combined with general accuracy, mean that he’s a danger any time crosses are flung in from either flank. The only thing that has stopped him from topping the Capocannoniere charts in the past have been injuries. A healthy Osimhen has proven to be a world class player.
On the other hand, Ademola Lookman’s production for Atalanta has been one of the biggest revelations of the season. The Atalanta winger has been in searing form, including 10 goals in his last 12 appearances in Serie A. There are some who could’ve probably predicted this sort of form once upon a time. After all, he has been able to garner some high profile transfers in the past – an €11.8m transfer from Charlton to Everton when he was a teenager, and then more recently an €18m sale that sent him from Everton to German club RB Leipzig. However, the London-born Lookman has never scored more than six goals in an entire season. As it stands at the halfway point of the season, he’s on pace to score 22 with Atalanta. Anyone who has followed Atalanta closely since Gianpiero Gasperini took over six years ago, shouldn’t be too surprised. The Italian manager has developed a knack for being able to get the best out of enigmatic attacking players. The best example is perhaps Luis Muriel – a very talented but inconsistent striker who had issues keeping his weight down in the past. Under Gasperini, Muriel had a season where he was right alongside Robert Lewandowski in terms of goals-per-minute.
The Curious Case of Davide Nicola
There’s been a long running joke about some of the volcanic Serie A Presidents of provincial sides having a quick trigger with managers – two in particular have stood out in the past: Palermo’s ex-President Maurizio Zamparini, who infamously went through 45 different managers while in charge of the Sicilian club, and Enrico Preziosi of Genoa, who had a similar relationship with the “mister” of the Grifoni.
Fast forward to 2023 and we’ve just witnessed a situation reminiscent of all those reactionary moves from unsettled Presidents. Salernitana owner Danilo Iervolino moved to sack Nicola after the club’s 8-2 loss against Atalanta (a bit of an anomaly if you look at the xG). The move felt harsh given the Italian manager’s miracle salvation of the club last season after he took over at the midway point. Nicola then phoned the President and “tugged at his heart strings” by delivering a passionate spiel about why he should be given another chance to lead the club. The conversation worked, and Davide Nicola was rehired as Salernitana boss just days after being fired.
While it ends up being a feel good story, the whole situation reeks of confusion at the top of the club, when stability is needed. Nicola has already formed a reputation for miracle salvations, so he seems like the right man to try to get the team back to winning ways after this current winless streak – which now stands at eight games in a row.
(Images from IMAGO)
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