Napoli were held to another European defeat, this time by Eintracht Frankfurt. At the Maradona stadium, a lackluster match ended 0-0, with Antonio Conte's team never finding their rhythm or composure. The draw left a bitter aftertaste: after the heavy defeat in Eindhoven, a reaction was expected, but the Azzurri showed more confusion than conviction, remaining on just four points at the halfway point of the season.
Conte is trying to breathe new life into the team by bringing Lobotka back from the start and relying on the new Gutierrez-Elmas partnership on the left.
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In the second half, the pace picked up only intermittently. Kristensen tried a long-range shot but couldn't find the target, while Milinkovic-Savic had to save from a tricky shot from Knauff, facilitated by a mistake from Buongiorno. Lang's introduction shook up the attack a bit, but Anguissa wasted another opportunity, while McTominay, in the 83rd minute, fired over from a great position after a run by the Cameroonian. In the closing stages, Napoli besieged the German penalty area: Anguissa hit Koch, Di Lorenzo fired over, Elmas and Hojlund almost scored the knockout blow, but Zetterer sealed it all.
At the final whistle, the Maradona crowd was unforgiving and made itself heard with a few boos. The team looked nervous and lackluster, and the standings were now starting to weigh heavily. With four points and qualification hanging in the balance, Conte must quickly find a change of pace or risk missing out on Europe too soon.
Comments (1)
Last night's match was disappointing. I saw a Napoli side without ideas and lacking in impact. I hope Conte can find a quick solution, otherwise we risk being left out of Europe. We need more determination.