I'm sorry I've gotten lazy and have decided to not put in the pictures like I did for week 1's matches. It was a poor game in my opinion the first week, Osimhen lost his temper and we can argue about whether it was a yellow or a red, it was stupid for him to lash out the way he did. He does need to work on controlling his emotions so that a situation like that doesn't happen again. The important thing is we got the 3 points, I was happy to see him introduce Gaetano in the 72nd. Now, we play against Genoa away from home. I was not impressed at all with Genoa in week 1, they lost 4-0 to Inter. I do think they are at risk of relegation this season, I don't believe their squad is particularly strong. What did you all think of last week's game and what are you hoping to see against Genoa?
I see little goal threat from Genoa, but they will train on their set-pieces and hope to get something. Also Calhanoglu created a lot of problems for them. He went over the top to win over the Inter fans. I don't think any of the Napoli players have to be so exceptional to get the better of this Genoa side. Some good team play and neat work on the ball will find a way past Genoa and demoralize them, like Inter did on their third. That's the goal I hope the players look at the most. The boys need to play smarter and for each other. Those are the building blocks for a strong season and this game is just another chance to build towards that. Spalletti is giving Zielinski and Fabian freedom to define themselves while Lobotka anchors them inside the 4-3-3. Zielinski will carry responsibilities that are new to him and he must learn to adapt them into his game. Spalletti is nudging Ziely to become a bit more like Fabian, but he's not forcing it. Fabian has a chance to do the opposite, he can start to show more of his qualities in the final third and become a little more like Ziely. He will enjoy his football more this way, but he has to improve his shooting from distance if he really wants to make the most of this opportunity. I'm a fan of this approach.
I think it is difficult to judge these games, especially when the red was given so early. These days, the weaker teams are all well-prepared both tactically and stamina-wise, so perhaps it is difficult now and against such opposition as it was for Mourinho's Inter back then against AC Milan(I think?). Osimhen needs to grow up, but thankfully, he's still young. I just hope he will not be one of those who never grow up, like, Higuain, for example. The defense was good, but at times they looked vulnerable, so we need to work on that. The midfield needs to improve, but it does seem like Spalleti knows how to react to situations, making it work somehow even when the midfield is not exactly shiny in any of its tasks. But that will improve with time, I hope.
We play similar to how we did under Gattuso. Lazio will be a problem this year. They also have a strong midfield and attack.
If the genoa player had jumped straight up in the air instead of straight into meret, I wouldn't say there was a fk. But he did just jump backwards into merer tbh
I really think Napoli has a very weak midfield. Meret and Mario Rui not impressive and Di Lorenzo makes too many mistakes.