Atalanta vs. Napoli @Stadio Atleti Azzurri - Matchday 14

I'd like to see Malcuit starting this game

 

The a team and maksimovic on RB is starting

 

um great start

 

Wtf was that tho Ruiz lol

 

What’s going on

 

Never did I think I'd be happy to see Milik in this game.

 

and now I am REALLY HAPPY to see him lol

 

@CarecaNapoli

 

Very bad game but tough to win there. Take the win and off to next game.

 

Rui had one of his best matches. His back post header late in the game was a great defensive play, Mertens and Callejon both had rough nights to say the least. Milik strong off the bench. His goal was impressive. Nice team win in a tough place to play.

 

I think it's clear that most of us here can't wait to see Ghoulam, as we all remember the fact that when he left us due to the injury he was surely becoming world class, one of the team's giants. It's completely different from why we want to see Meret and Younes, both of whom are supposedly very good but we have not seen them show anything yet in our colors. I really hope Ghoulam can come in full strength or at least get on top in a short amount of time, as he was so damn good. So far I would say that we have Koulibaly, Albiol, Hamsik, Insigne, Mertens, Allan, and maybe Ruiz. I really disliked Maksimovic yesterday, as he seemed lazy and apathetic from time to time. Hamsik has so much experience and his play without the ball is savage, as it is with it. But he is not the youngest anymore, so we need the younger guys to run more. As the commentators said yesterday, Hamsik is often closed down very quickly and he therefore has very little time to make his move.

I think that the short performance of Milik yesterday kind of gave fuel to my last argument about Milik. That boy definitely has quality, but we should not forget that we have gotten completely accustomed to feeding Mertens in attack, sts Insigne this season. Our long-term objective should be to adjust ourselves to feeling comfortable with providing scoring opportunities for both kinds of players, Milik and Mertens/Insigne. That could drastically improve our game.

 

Milik is good off the bench. We knew that. But he is not a starter. He adds nothing else, other than the occasional thread.

Maksimovic was horrible. HE was exposed going forward. He should play center back or right back in games we are defending, like against, Juve, Liverpool, PSG.

Mario Rui is much better than Hysaj. He is good against weaker opposition but exposed against top teams. I maintain our problem is right back not left back.

Zielinski was good coming on. But he needs to have composure when playing a full game.

Hamsik is getting better and better.

I am still not convinced by Ospina.

I hope Rog and Diawara can find some form. They have both been horrible this season.

 

I don't understand why we keep doing this to ourselves, score an early goal and leave all initiative to the opponent - we don't have the pacey players to counter anyway. We have to start playing football again, this park the bus shit is okay in the CL against strong oppositions but in league games? Sarri trained these players to defend with the ball at a world-class level, so let them defend with the ball. It's not like we are conceding fewer goals now.

We were lucky to get all 3 points, and the current method in the league is not sustainable - I don't even wanna know where our season will go if we fail to qualify for the knockout stages in the CL.

Atalanta's defense is possibly the worst I have seen this season and we failed to understand that and utilize it.

 

I sort of agree with the paragraphs that I have erased, but you have totally ignored my argument about Milik. I wasn't trying to determine whether Milik was good from the bench or for a full game, but whether our team collectively, the midfield especially, is as good providing opportunities for a striker like Milik as it is for Mertens or Insigne, both of whom are very different. After all, Milik was injured for a very long time and the team had no reason to adjust to is style.

Hysaj is sts pretty decent defensively against stronger sides. He might be outrun on the flank every now and again but Rui usually screws up so badly that we concede...

Atalanta is a tricky opponent and criticizing their defense is nothing but a simplified version of the truth. We haven't really done it that often this season, and I distinctly remember games under Sarri where we were lacking in many areas. Ye the worshipers are allowed to deify him, but that's not going to change the fact that we haven't always played a great game under him. Moreover, he achieved 2nd place while not caring about CHL with an easier group, in his 3rd year with us, not facing Ronaldo. Carlo has been doing well, even if we do not qualify in the CHL, as the group really is a diabolic one. We have not shamed ourselves in it, which is quite an achievement by itself. Juventus was up against MU, and that is a joke.

Not even the best teams can be on top of their game in every match. Not even Juventus can do that, or other great teams. They have something else, and that sth is that they are effective. Did you watch the Fiorentina-Juventus game? I did, and I was impressed by Fiorentina's movement, but they were toothless while Juventus scored with ease, utilizing the first chance they got. This is what we need to learn, exactly because no one team in the world can always play a great game...

 

Not a great performance but happy with the win and 3 points.

Milik/Ounas should probably start next game against Frosinone if only to give Mertens/Insigne some rest before the big game against Liverpool next week.

 

I agree to most of what you are saying.

But if we don’t qualify in CL and the distance to Juve stays 8 points by Christmas, then the season was a write off.

You cannot bet on the CL and hide behind a tough draw. That is a losers mentality.

 

But if we attack the matter like this, is it not like conforming to the modus operandi of those teams that always criticize and change coaches? And if we really did tackle the problem this way, would it not be, in that respect, even worse in our case? To clarify my point, I think that we should take into consideration the amount of time that Carlo has been with the team, as well as the difficulty of the group. I get your point, but simultaneously you cannot just ignore these factors and even daringly compare the unfinished accomplishments of this season with the success of our previous coach after 3 years of work. If it had not been for the assimilation necessary when Carlo came in, I dare say we would have been 6 points ahead of ourselves now. Bearing this in mind, I would like to remind you of the results in the first Serie A games under Sarri.

And I understand fully that the possible elimination from the CHL group hanging over us would have been a great disappointment if it had come to pass, believe me, as an invisible charred hand grips my heart and takes my breath away whenever I think of it, but still I maintain that we cannot focus on qualification exclusively.

That is, we have already surprised many, and flabbergasted more. In addition, do you remember our performances against City in the CHL? We were schooled back then - naught more, naught less. So again, I dare say that I am very happy with the quality we have shown against some of the best so far, and also that there is still roo for improvement into which experience has been flooding in, and finally, not just the experience of losses. Hopefully we will be able to finish it off successfully.

I prefer the attitude where I just thank Sarri for what he has given, without unnecessary comparisons when they are not even due yet, as the season is still in progress and it is our new coach's first year with the team. Sarri has made our team technical and capable, but he still has to chase experience. Carlo is a very experienced coach who can utilize Sarri's technical wonders and add the fuel of experience to the fire, as well as skill and acumen.

So far, I don't really think that so much has happened that warrants such comparisons or criticisms. Quite to the contrary, all things considered.