Sooner or later, the wheels had to come off. Napoli set an impossible pace through the first seven games of this Serie A season: taking maximum points while scoring at least three against every opponent.
That came to an end on Saturday, as they ran into a Roma side who had conceded only four in total: second-fewest in the division. A team who finished runners-up to Juventus last season, and whose manager, Eusebio Di Francesco, riffed during his pre-game press conference on the old American sporting maxim that defence wins championships.
Away to such formidable opposition, even Napoli were forced to relent. For the first time all season, they had to settle for a paltry 1-0 win.
The disappointment should fade eventually. Napoli will have to content themselves with the five points advantage they now hold over the champs. Juventus had already suffered a 2-1 reverse at home to Lazio earlier on Saturday, and by the end of the weekend fell to joint third – behind Inter, who beat Milan 3-2 in a delirious Derby della Madonnina.
Even before a ball had been kicked, we knew this would be a compelling round of games. Six of Serie A’s top seven were going head-to-head – “Everyone Against Everyone”, as they billed it in Gazzetta dello Sport.
Any risk of anticlimax was dispelled at the outset. No team had beaten Juventus on their own patch in two years: a run stretching back 57 games across all competitions. Lazio had not enjoyed a league win over the Bianconeri – home or away – since 2003. But they had defeated these opponents in the pre-season Supercoppa and perhaps that memory helped to keep their heads up after a sluggish start this time around. Having fallen behind to a Douglas Costa strike, Lazio were fortunate not to concede a second when Thomas Strakosha’s clearance was charged down by Gonzalo HiguaÃn two yards out. Somehow, the ball ricocheted up against the bar.
Juventus led 1-0 at the break. They were 2-1 down within 10 minutes of the restart. Ciro Immobile served up a repeat of the double he had scored in the Supercoppa, dashing through to make good on a Luis Alberto through-ball before slotting home a penalty he had earned.
The sense of deja vu was further reinforced when Juventus were awarded a last-minute penalty (correctly, with VAR assistance) – just like the one they got in August. Back then, Paulo Dybala converted for an equaliser, only for Lazio to score again through Alessandro Murgia. This time, the Argentinian saw his shot saved by Strakosha.
Even the very best can miss a penalty. Dybala may well turn out to be the ‘next Messi’, as many have portrayed him (not that he has ever sought that title himself). For now, though, it is Immobile who is outscoring the Barcelona forward, with 15 goals in 11 games.
Nobody should put those two players in the same bracket but the Lazio striker is in glorious form. Despite unremarkable technique, he is, at his best, a wonderfully cold-blooded finisher and the ease with which he scored Lazio’s equaliser, taking the shot on early before Gigi Buffon could close the gap, spoke of a man whose confidence is soaring.
It was his former Pescara team-mate Lorenzo Insigne who scored to lift Napoli past Roma. This, too, was an act of opportunism, the forward capitalising after a Dries Mertens pass bounced into his path via the shins of Daniele De Rossi. Napoli were the better team but could easily have been pegged back as Roma hit the woodwork twice late on.
As much as Insigne made his mark, Napoli had Pepe Reina to thank, too. The Spaniard pulled off one of the best saves of his career away to these same opponents back in March – changing direction in a heartbeat to claw a deflected Diego Perotti shot on to the post. His stop from a Federico Fazio header on this occasion was not quite the same level of difficulty but the optics were certainly familiar.
This victory feels even more meaningful than the one Reina helped to secure back then. The season is young and it is worth remembering Roma started the 2013-14 campaign with 10 consecutive wins under Rudi GarcÃa, only to finish 17 points behind Juventus. To have visited the Stadio Olimpico twice without dropping a point, though, is no small feat. Napoli’s 4-1 victory over Lazio last month only looks more impressive.
Their closest challengers are now Inter, who maintained the theme of the weekend with a victory earned through superior finishing. After shading the first half against Milan, they were forced on to the back foot when Vincenzo Montella introduced Patrick Cutrone for Franck Kessié at half-time and ordered his wing-backs higher upfield.
Twice Milan recovered from a goal down. On each occasion, it was the ruthlessness of Mauro Icardi that set Inter back on track. The striker never used to enjoy this fixture – failing to find the net in his first eight derbies. He finally broke that duck in April, however, and followed up with a hat-trick here.
His first was a pure poacher’s finish, running on to a cross from the right and helping the ball across his body and into the bottom corner. The second was quietly brilliant, a leaping volley to meet a cut-back that had arrived at a potentially awkward angle. Then came a penalty in the 90th minute.
Icardi, like Dybala, had spent the previous fortnight flying halfway around the world with the Argentina team. Both men travelled more than 15,000 miles for World Cup qualifiers at home and in Ecuador. The Inter player got a total of 15 minutes on the pitch for his troubles. The Juve player got none.
Perhaps that quarter of an hour made all the difference. Or maybe Icardi is just loving life under Luciano Spalletti. Their football has rarely been sparkling in this early part of the season, but there is a resilience – an ability to overcome a setback – which this team has often lacked. They are the only other team to beat Roma so far.
Can they truly hang with Napoli? We will find out on Saturday, when they travel to the Stadio San Paolo. Their timing is certainly good. While Inter can spend the week preparing, Napoli have the small matter of a Champions League match at Manchester City to negotiate first.
Napoli’s owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, had no doubts as to where his team’s priorities should lie. Asked about the game against City, he told reporters: “I believe we should rest a few of those players who have the most minutes in their legs, to keep them fresh. The match against Inter is really important.”
A superstitious man, he refused to engage in any discussion of a potential Scudetto. But when you have played eight games and won them all, those conversations will happen whether you like it or not. Napoli’s run of scoring three goals every week is over. And that’s as close as you could get to picking out a negative in their season so far.
Results: Juventus 1-2 Lazio, Roma 0-1 Napoli, Fiorentina 2-1 Udinese, Bologna 2-1 Spal, Cagliari 2-3 Genoa, Crotone 2-2 Torino, Sampdoria 3-1 Atalanta, Sassuolo 0-0 Chievo, Inter 3-2 Milan.
SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS posted by CAMPUS94
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