Napoli collapses against ‘Maradona’. Mazzarri’s team suffers a harsh lesson from them terrible boys from Frosinone who overwhelm the Azzurri with four goals down at the end of a match perhaps too underestimated by Mazzarri and conducted by the Lazio players with a perfect strategy orchestrated by Di Francesco.
Frosinone thus qualifies, for the first time in its history, for the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup where they will face the winner of the match between Juventus and Salernitana, while Napoli for the third consecutive year is eliminated in the round of 16 following defeats on their own pitch.
The defeat of the Italian Champions materializes in the second half after a balanced first half which ended 0-0. Napoli’s collapse was due to a series of sensational errors by the defense and at the same time to the now chronic inability of the attack to materialize scoring opportunities. Mazzarri decides to field almost all the reserves he has at his disposal and in the starting line-up identified by the coach there is only one starter, Mario Rui. The choice turns out to be unfortunate because inevitably the team’s mechanisms are jammed and there is no fluidity in the Azzurri’s game. In the first half Napoli also managed to create some good scoring opportunities. He hits the post twice with Raspadori and Mario Rui and also scores with Simeone who takes advantage of a pass from Okoli to Cerofolini and scores into an empty net. But referee Abisso, recalled by VAR, annulled the goal due to a handball by Lindstrom in an earlier phase of the game.
In the second half Mazzarri maintained the starting line-up for only about ten minutes and then began to send his starting players onto the pitch with the clear intention of breaking the deadlock to avoid extra time. In the 19th minute, however, the Lazio team took the lead through Barrenechea who heads a cross from the corner flag into the net. The Argentine jumps undisturbed into the penalty area between Osimhen and Di Lorenzo, who have just entered the pitch to give strength and vigor to the team. Napoli immediately organized themselves for the expected reaction but after just five minutes from the opening goal, Di Francesco’s team doubled their advantage by taking advantage of a reckless pass from Di Lorenzo on which he pounced Case who appears only in front of Gollini and surpasses him with an angled shot. At this point the match is practically over, even Napoli still tries to react angrily.
Mazzarri’s team is also exposed to a counterattack by Frosinone who misses a clear scoring opportunity with Gelli. The third goal also arrives for Frosinone in the 90th minute penalty kick converted by Cheddira and awarded by referee Abisso for a foul by Di Lorenzo on Gelli launched at full speed on the counterattack inside the penalty area.
In the last second of the game it is once again a counterattack that favors the touch Harroui who beats Gollini on the goalkeeper’s exit. It ends with the Azzurri overwhelmed by the boos of the ‘Maradona’ fans. Mazzarri will now have to work above all to recover the team on a psychological level after a defeat that could also leave its mark on the performances in the championship, starting with the match at the Olimpico against Roma, scheduled for next Saturday.
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2023-12-19 22:31:07
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