The Partenopei often play sumptuous football under the mentoring of Maurizio Sarri but the Italian side were not as effective or as assured as they usually would be when they faced Real Madrid in Spain on Wednesday evening.
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When Napoli played against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Round of 16 Champions League tie on Wednesday night, club legend Diego Maradona was in attendance at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium cheering the Partenopei on.
Unfortunately, the result would have brought back memories of when he played for the Neapolitans in their first European Cup fixture against the Spanish giants back in September 1987, which they lost 2-0. Fast forward nearly 30 years and the deficit was the same but the score was 3-1 to Los Merengues.
Throughout the season Maurizio Sarri’s team have been playing some splendid football but the Napoli tactician did not see his squad play with their usual swagger and confidence on Wednesday. Individual errors, tactical flaws, and a lack of mental strength were some of the reasons for the uncharacteristically flat performance against Real Madrid.
To the shock of many, the Partenopei opened the scoring after eight minutes when Lorenzo Insigne curled a low shot from long range past Blancos goalkeeper Keylor Navas, but it was short-lived as Karim Benzema equalised 10 minutes later with a header.
Although it was a well-created goal, the defending was insipid. Real right-back Dani Carvajal was allowed enough time to curl a cross with the outside of his right foot and Napoli centre-back Raul Albiol was caught ball watching and Benzema easily beat him in the aerial challenge.
Four minutes into the second half, Real Madrid went in front thanks to a Toni Kroos strike and once again the defending from the Partenopei was lacklustre.
Left-back Faouzi Ghoulam was out of position so centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly was forced to chase Cristiano Ronaldo down the Blancos’ right-wing and even when the Portuguese superstar cut the ball back for Kroos, Piotr Zielinski failed to close down the German international or block his shot.
A spectacular volley from Casemiro sealed the victory for the Merengues in the 54th minute but Albiol should be blamed for making a very weak clearance from defence.
In addition to these mistakes committed in defence, Napoli lacked their usual compactness and fluidity for the majority of the match. Los Blancos played at a fast speed when in possession and off the ball they were able to close down spaces quickly, whereas the Partenopei were stretched, they looked disjointed, left their forwards isolated, and lacked urgency.
Experience was also crucial in this Champions League tie and while Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane could count on an array of proven stars, his Ciucciarelli counterpart could not.
Although the Partenopei have players like Pepe Reina, Jose Callejon, and Albiol who are over 30 years old, facing a giant like Los Merengues would have been nerve-wracking experience for their younger players such as Zielinski and Amadou Diawara.
Despite playing poorly for about an hour, Napoli did look like their vibrant and confident selves in the remaining 30 minutes or so of the first leg, but they weren’t able to score another away goal. Their defensive challenges were well-timed and they passed the ball with more fluidity.
Sarri has until March 7 to assess how he should approach the second leg at the Stadio San Paolo but to stand a chance of eliminating Real Madrid from the Champions League, Napoli must reduce the errors heavily and believe that their philosophy can work in Europe.