We travel to Amsterdam to play Ajax this upcoming Tuesday. Have to think a win would secure a spot in the next round. I hope we try to take the game to them. Ajax haven't won in about a month, they'll come out firing but if we temper the storm they may be vulnerable.
Ajax like to attack, and will throw everything in this upcoming fixture. They will leave themselves open to counters. Antony and Bergwijn are the wide threats to keep an eye on. DiLo and Rui will have their hands full.
The teams have not met in an Euro match since the days of Cruyff in 1969-70 in the old Inter Cities Fairs cup. Ajax progressed in the two leg tie. Ajax are in a funk right now and are having trouble scoring goals. Most of us are pretty pessimistic right now as we really did not get a suitable replacement for Antony. We were on the back foot against Liverpool but manged to keep them off the scoreboard until the final minutes of the game. Ajax play a high press game but are susceptible to quick counters if they lose the ball. Other than the Liverpool game, they have dominated possession in every game this season. Yesterday we had 23 shots, 7 on goal but scored only once!! Here is how we probably will line up: Pasveer surprisingly is the Dutch #1 keeper at the age of 38. He's very good with the ball at his feet and still has good quickness. Rensch is at RB and runs hot and cold. He's still only 19 and been called up to the Dutch NT but he zones out of games and sometimes misses marking his winger. Timber is maybe the best player on the club at RCB. A little short for the position but reads the game well and is an outstanding passer. starts for the Dutch NT. Bassey came over from Rangers is at LCB. He is really fast and can recover quickly but sometimes gets rattled. He is a good passer. Blind is our LB but is really slow these days and can be exploited by a pacy winger. He's very good with the ball and maybe the best passer on the club. Alvarez plays holding MF and is an outstanding defender. He is big and dominates in the air and can be dangerous on corner kicks. Taylor is only 19 and started for the Dutch team against Belgium last week in the MG. He is a solid all around player and makes good runs into gaps. Berghuis is the attacking MF and also a Dutch NT regular. He is good with the ball and can score an occasional goal from distance Tadic is our captain and plays 90 minutes almost every match. He shifted over to RW when Bergwijn arrived over the summer. He's not as comfortable there and quite frankly has lost some quickness. He can't beat players 1 v 1. Either Brobbey, a traditional striker, or Kudus, a MF who plays a false 9, will play in the middle. My preference is for Brobbey who can hold up the ball better and is solid in the box. Bergwijn came over from Spurs and is good with the ball. He likes to cut into the middle and shoot and if he is not properly marked, a lethal scorer. Klaassen usually comes off the bench but sometimes starts as an attacking MF. He has a real nose for the goal but is not a great ball handler. I would like to say Ajax will win but suspect a draw would be a favorable result given how we play. If the defense holds strong and we don't give the ball up and get caught out it's possible that they can keep a clean sheet. Anyway it should be an interesting match. Good luck to Napoli!!!!!
Sorry, Tadic. I forget Antony left. Dumb moment LOL DiLo has the harder task, so I hope he brings his A game.
I'm really looking forward to this one. From what I've read the hope is that Osimhen will be back for the Ajax game back in Napoli (next week, not Tuesday).
Seems like K2 has been struggling in Chelsea. He has barely played so far; furthermore, one of my friends who is a fan of Chelsea would already like to get rid of him. He says K2 is too slow for PL. I hope our Kalidou will find something more than a bench in England.
Incredible victory. Our greatest ever win in Europe. Ajax were too focused on doing their thing and completely underestimated our attacking power. I wonder if they thought we were going to be a typical Italian team and try to manage the lead. Spalletti has changed his sub strategies as I thought he would. Ndombele is a better swap for Zielinski and it looks like Gaetano is his choice for Loboktka. Di Lorenzo looked like he was getting burned before he scored. He needs to manage him better. Zanoli needs to come in and start Vs the scrap teams
One of the most incredible wins I've ever seen, not just by Napoli, but at any time. With the way we've played, we might be the best team in Europe. Teams underestimate us IMO and don't know what to expect. Raspadori turning it on for club and country lately. How do we fit him in when Osi is back? On the right? DiLo was very grateful to Spalletti after he scored. Spalletti is pushing him out of his comfort zone and asking him to do more, making him realize he is a better player than he even thought.
No idea what happens when Osimhen comes back. But I would say that it’s 100% vital that Spalletti keeps a fresh rotation. We are playing with such a high tempo now, even higher than when we had Sarri. We need to continue to step on the gas. We all complain about Lozano, but I thought he was very useful yesterday and was a pain in the ass for their left back. Politano rested and will likely feature Vs. Cremonese. This has to continue. All the good teams that win championships know how to leverage their bench. IMO Anguissa, Lobotka and Di Lorenzo are being overused. Anguissa especially as he cannot be easily replaced. Gaetano I have faith in him to be a somewhat competent replacement for Lobotka. Same with Zanoli for Di Lorenzo. Looks like Spalletti has cooled on Zerbin after the Milan game.
Our players will have a rest shortly when the World Cup starts. Only 10 games before the World Cup break. @ Cremonese vs Ajax vs Bologna @ Roma vs Rangers vs Sassuolo @ Liverpool @ Atalanta vs Empoli vs Udinese I know we're playing every 3-4 days but there are only 4 away games in the next month and a half .. 1 of them being a short trip to Rome.
That jump though, that was epic. One of the best jumps ever performed by Napoli, and worldwide as well. Lozano finally played like a real player. I am happy for him despite everything. I think the best things about yesterday were many: confidence, courage, quality, speed, intelligence. Probably forgot some. We were simply superb; however, what I would like to point out the most were our accuracy and the lightness with which we seemed to move the ball. All our midfielders have something special on top of their game. I really do not think we have a replacement for any one of them right now. Zerbin was terrible when he came on, unfortunately. He showed no football at all, either in attack or defense.
As a Juventus fan, I am really excited for you guys. Honestly I love all Serie A teams, and don't take and real rivalries seriously within the league, unless we are playing against them or are trying to win the league. In Europe, I support Serie A before any rivalry. Also very happy for Raspadori as I love our national team, and want him to succeed at club level as well. Do you guys think you could even win the UCL? I know it's very early, but I feel you're capable of beating almost any team. Bayern Munich and PSG are the ones that scare me most for you guys. Perhaps Man City, but I feel they are overrated a bit. What do you think? Also what do you think of Spaletti as your manager? I've always been very fond of him and think he's really tactically smart and an underrated manager that has went unnoticed in the past years. I was never very fond of Sarri but really like Spaletti. Do you think Spaletti is the best manager you had for the past like 15 years even?
That’s still very tight. You’re also going to be losing some players to the WC. For them they will get 0 rest. Vs. Cremonese why not start Gaetano with Anguissa? If he can’t perform Vs. a team that will be a relegation battler, then he’s not good enough for Napoli
No. Even the most delusional Napoli fan will tell you we can't win the CL. There are too many good and experienced teams like City, Real, Bayern etc. The best we can do is hope to make it as far as possible. Even the quarters will be a huge success IMO. The real goal of the season should be the scudetto. Spalletti is the best Italian coach right now. We are playing a devastating style because of him. The formation is solid, the approach to keep attacking is working very well. But the jury is still out. Sarri had a 91 point season. Let's see if Spalletti could finally bring a scudetto to Napoli.
@Mean Machine Spalletti's no longer the neurotic tactician he was before and has learned all the right lessons. We are this season's surprise package. Almost every season of the UCL has one team no one expects that reaches the semis.