In the second day of the Champions League's group stage, SSC Napoli beats 1-0 Liverpool FC, thanks to a goal by Lorenzo Insigne in the final minutes. Carlo Ancelotti wins the challenge with his friend Jurgen Klopp, with an extraordinary strategy and a perfect tactical organization.
In the hardest group of the Champions League, to stay in the tournament and go on, it's necessary to play perfect matches. Carlo Ancelotti knows this well, considering that he is an expert of great challenges and, above all, of victories.
The Italian coach, in this season has a difficult mission in leading SSC Napoli, a team that won last title in Italy about 30 years ago and has never had particular success in the maximum European tournament.
After the 0-0 draw against Red Star Belgrade, this match against Liverpool FC already seemed a crossroads for the European ambitions of the Partenopei.
Facing the vice-champions of Europe, only 3 days after the Serie A big match vs Juventus FC, it was not easy at all. Many were convinced that the defeat against the Bianconeri would mentally condition their performance.
Nothing could be more wrong. SSC Napoli accomplishes the best performance of the Ancelotti era and most of the merits go to the coach, able to read the match with great expertise and to guess all the choices.
DEFENSIVE STRUCTURE
Ancelotti surprised everyone when he has lined up as a right defender Maksimovic and not Hysaj.
The choice proved to be extraordinarily successful, for two main reasons.
The first is that with a more defensive player, the team has had greater balance: tighter markings and always two players in the area of the ball.
The second is that the presence of a man used to playing as a central defender too, facilitated the ball possession at the beginning of the action and improved the organization of the game, thanks to a greater precision of the passes.
In this way, Albiol and Koulibaly were able to alternate the pressure on Firmino and, in turn, went to help the teammates against Mane and Salah, defusing the Reds forward.
At the end of the game, not even a shot on goal for one of the strongest tridents of the moment. In short, perfect defense.
CHAMELEONIC MODULE
Looking at this line up, it's really difficult to understand which module SSC Napoli started the match.
It can be a 3-5-2 with Maksimovic as a central defender.
It becomes a 4-4-2 with the Serbian player on the right side of the defense, Callejon and Fabian Ruiz as wings in midfield.
It turns into 4-2-3-1 when Insigne moves back to his position and plays as offensive midfielder.
It's a 4-3-3 when Fabian Ruiz comes to play on the midfielder's line and Insigne becomes left wing.
4 in 1 is really a lot of stuff!
And this ductility has allowed the team to better interpret every situation of the game, being able to always be ready to transform without making trouble any of its players.
If this is not a tactical masterpiece, then what can it be?
DECISIVE SUBSTITUTIONS
Even though a clear territorial dominance, the goal of SSC Napoli came only in the final minutes of the match. This is happened because Liverpool FC was able to keep up with Ancelotti's team, especially thanks to the physicality and speed of its players.
Arek Milik fought all the time with Van Dijk and Joe Gomez, two giants very difficult to deal with. So, in the middle of the second half, Mister Carlo decides to shuffle the cards once again and put in two agile players like Mertens and Verdi, instead of Milik and Fabian Ruiz, exhausted after a good performance.
The move causes unpredictability and achieves the desired effect. In particular, Mertens seems to be in great condition, and he shifts all over and behind the forward line.
When Mario Rui crosses the ball in the middle, he manages to get free in the box for the shot, but his hit crashes on the crossbar.
Klopp's defense lost the right positions and in fact, only a few minutes later, Mertens again moves on the right and frees the Callejon run. The Spanish wing invents the assist for Lorenzo Insigne and the San Paolo party can start.
Maybe in the last year, nobody had succeeded to make Liverpool FC and his coach Klopp in suchlike trouble.
Waiting to understand how the European walk of SSC Napoli will proceed, Ancelotti has shown great cleverness, obscuring Klopp, one of the coaches of the moment, and stars like Firmino and Salah, never dangerous during the match.
Mission accomplished with a team considered to be lower than the opponent, but really the Italian coach who has won the Champions League for 3 times, no longer finishes to amaze everyone.
Well done, Carletto! Great Job!
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Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!
See you soon!
Girolamo
Follow me and @scorum-italia
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