SSC Napoli managed to beat AS Roma in the 2022/23 Serie A match at the Stadio Olimpico, Monday (24/10). Victor Osimhen broke the deadlock through his goal in the 80th minute. This victory makes Napoli increasingly solid at the top of the Serie A standings this season. By beating Roma, Napoli recorded 11 consecutive wins. The team nicknamed the Partenopei are also unbeaten in the last 24 matches since April 24. Meanwhile, Roma dropped to fourth in the Serie A standings.
Napoli is still down with a 4-3-3 formation in this match. However, there are differences in the composition of the players, especially on the front lines. The most visible factor was the installation of Osimhen as the first 11 center forward. The last time the Nigerian striker was in the first 11 was against Liverpool on 8 September.
Meanwhile, Rome uses a 3-5-2 formation to withstand the onslaught of Napoli. Roma’s line-up has not changed much from previous matches. Rick Karsdorp returns to the right wing-back position after injury. It was also forced because Nicola Zalewski got injured during the warm-up so Karsdorp had to be played from the start.
Napoli’s Change of Attack Pattern
Napoli are still relying on the usual attack pattern since the start of the match, which is relying on collectivity on the side of the field. It’s just that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia did not get an excess portion in this match. His movement was deadlocked on the right side of the Roma defense which was guarded by a combination of Karsdorp and Gianluca Mancini.
Karsdorp rarely stepped up to help Roma attack in the match at the Olimpico. In fact, usually this Dutch player is very aggressive when his team has the ball. However, in this match, Karsdorp more often followed wherever Kvaratskhelia was. Kvaratskhelia was only able to control the ball more freely on the counter-attack and when Roma started to open up after conceding.
Throughout the match, Kvaratskhelia was only able to attempt two shots: one missed and the rest were blocked by the opponent. Chance 11 times the ball dribble was only four that worked. Apart from being guarded by Karsdorp, it is not uncommon for Kvaratskhelia to get blocked by Lorenzo Pellegrini who plays wide when his team is on the defensive.
In a defensive situation, Roma did change the pattern to 5-3-2 or 4-1-3-2. Karsdorp held on to the right and Pellegrini went wide to the right. Pellegrini’s reinforcements and Roma’s passive right side when attacking actually couldn’t be separated from Karsdorp’s recent recovery. As a result, he was not given too much portion other than to survive in this match.
Kvaratskhelia’s deadlock, especially during the first half, made coach Luciano Spalletti try to change his team’s game in the second half. Giovanni Di Lorenzo et al began to apply the bait far into the final third of Rome’s defense. In addition, Napoli’s forward players often rely on dribbling into the Roma penalty box.
When the supply to Kvaratskhelia felt stuck, the ball passed to Osimhen or Hirving Lozano was continued with a dribble to wreak havoc in the Roma penalty box. This long passing process and dribbling was also the only goal for Napoli. Matteo Politano’s long ball reached the feet of Osimhen who held the ball a little and outwit Chris Smalling to shoot.
The kick made Rui Patricio not move to see the ball go into the net. Napoli’s goal was obtained after Roma launched an attack. In other words, Roma who defended and relied on counter-attacks actually lost by their own game pattern.
Roma’s Outdated Attack
Tactically, Roma and Napoli are very different in responding to this match situation. If Napoli changed the game at the turn of the half, Roma did not make any changes. Actually, the way Roma defended deserves thumbs up. They were able to keep Kvaratskhelia from moving and Osimhen found no room to move because Smalling was guarded.
Roma’s defensive pattern change from a 3-5-2 formation to a 5-3-2 is very effective. The combination of the right side as written in the previous section, coupled with the wide of Roger Ibanez to maintain the left side of the defense area is fairly effective. The back four parallel to Roma were also assisted in depth by Bryan Cristante and Mady Camara.
The two midfielders also made Tanguy Ndombele unable to freely build Napoli’s attack from the middle. They even forced Piotr Zielinski to play wider from center to right to help Kvaratskhelia. When Napoli lose the ball, Cristante or the Roma centre-back will decide the first attack. Then the ball is released with a direct long pass to disrupt the Napoli defense.
In total, Roma released 75 long passes in this match. This number is far superior to Napoli, who only released it 41 times. Pellegrini should also play a role in this matter. But he was not free to control the ball because he got aggressive pressing from Napoli midfielders.
These long passes were released to maximize the speed of Nicolo Zaniolo and Tammy Abraham. The two players forced the Napoli center back to run against each other in welcoming the long pass. The Napoli center backs also looked quite difficult to catch Zaniolo and Abraham.
Although they look superior in speed, they are not in finishing. Zaniolo looked to remain a supplier when he had the ball wide. While Abraham, who tends to go straight to the goal, seems to waste a lot of his luck.
Abraham only recorded one attempted shot that did not meet the target. In fact, almost every counterattack ended in his feet. These quick but imprecise counter-attacks are still being relied on until they conceded first. Roma played more openly and attacked after conceding in the 80th minute.
This match shows that Spalletti has a good adaptation in serving the opponent’s game. Changes in attack patterns in round two, became the key to Napoli’s victory. While Roma stopped with the style of play that remained the same. No doubt if the host gets the taste from his own game.
ASL
