Mazzarri revives Napoli: Zerbin scores a brace in a few minutes. Fiorentina, with Ikoné, wastes the equalizing penalty.
In the home of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, a far from packed Al-Awwal Arena in Riyadh (but for the record we will say that the kick-off was at 10pm local time), the first act is staged of the Italian Super Cup, in the new four-team format with semi-finals and final. Napoli-Fiorentina is the match between the reigning Italian champions and the second finalist of the Italian Cup, the first act of the troubled trophy which starts after two days of questionable statements, with the CEO of the Lega Serie A De Siervo who had precisely having to explain the presence of Viola and Lazio to the intrigued Saudi journalists, and to follow the unlikely political-cultural missions that the Minister of Sport Abodi assigned to the Super Cup;
A lot has changed since the two teams met in October. In Naples there is no longer Garcia, there is the Mazzarri II government which for the occasion dusts off the three-man defense in search of security and comfort zones; while the Viola, in terms of their psychophysical form, are far from Maradona’s 1-3 record, even with a good ranking and a semi-final reached in the Italian Cup. The absences especially stand out: Anguissa and Osimhen in the Africa Cup of Nations, Meret and Nico Gonzalez injured. The result is a match that is not very appreciable in terms of pace and play, which Napoli has the merit of having unblocked and progressively frozen, and Fiorentina has the fault of not having reopened by not taking advantage of the most sensational opportunities;
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If the first minutes, exposing Napoli’s difficulties in coming out low, clearly show how after six months the Azzurri are something very different from the perfect mechanism of the Scudetto, the rest of the match puts Fiorentina on the table for the umpteenth time suffer first the wrong choices of his players, both up front and at the back. AND in seconds how having to attack a low and closed block is something that goes beyond the technical capabilities of the Viola. Ultimately, the play of the game is the break by Juan Jesus who triggers the goal of the former Simeone: here Napoli moves forward and prepares to resist the Viola’s assault, determining the inertia of the match. Inertia that could have changed just before the break, but first Martinez Quarta (more and more shadow striker) hits the post, then Ikoné misses a penalty kick;
Perhaps tonight’s race is truly Jonathan Ikoné’s last act in Florence. If not in terms of attendance (we don’t know how Fiorentina will move on the external market), at least in terms of emotional connection. That – generous – penalty awarded and then sent over the crossbar is the tombstone of the Viola’s match, as well as of their match. However, he had started the game with a good attitude, especially due to the frequency and effectiveness with which he faced and dribbled past Napoli’s left chain. However, the match was already tainted with a superficial coverage on Juan Jesus during Simeone’s goal. Going to tighten, for the umpteenth time and despite all his good qualities, Ikoné turns out to be not a solution but a problem for Fiorentina. In the end, the sad leitmotif of his two years in the purple jersey;
Alessio Zerbin is, with a handful of minutes played, the unlikely hero of the evening. Name hardly known to the Saudi public, the former Frosinone (for two years mysterious object of Napoli and again now promised to the Ciociaria team) enters in the 81st minute, scores in the 84th minute following the development of a corner crashing dangerously against the goal post, comes out with the ice on his head and in the 86th minute returns to the field and scores again with a sprint towards the goal of a distracted Fiorentina. Congratulations to the boy, because with his entry he closed a match that Napoli controlled but with suffering; his devastating entrance can only increase that feeling of having witnessed a surreal match, even dystopian in every aspect.
2024-01-18 21:32:49
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