Amaro Var. It struck Napoli again: strong doubts about Mazzocchi’s offside in the action of McTominay’s goal signaled by the Lissone room after just 11 minutes. But in this draw, the second in a row at Maradona, there was above all the Azzurri’s inability to break Parma’s lock.
An opportunity that should not have been wasted after the excellent performance on the pitch by Inter, who yesterday became winter champions and extended their lead over the Azzurri to +6 by beating Lecce in the final stages of a tough match thanks to a goal from Esposito, the striker from Castellammare di Stabia. Nerazzurri on the run.
Maradona’s scream after McTominay’s goal remained in his throat. Canceled due to offside by Mazzocchi. But the line cut the blue player’s arm and the arm positioned beyond the defender is not irregular (article 11 of the football regulations). A little piece of shoulder, maybe. Not evident in the frame, but no doubts on the part of the Var Gariglio officer: in Lissone they only have certainties. Therefore, after 11 minutes the result did not change and the match against Parma became an uphill battle, with a bitter ending for Conte, who was disqualified.
Only two points with Verona and Parma at Maradona. The slowdown was not needed, considering Inter’s pace (7 wins in 8 matches), because these were the least difficult fixtures on the calendar, moreover in a phase of the championship in which there are five teams fighting for the Scudetto and Champions League zone, separated by a few points. Parma closed off all the spaces and then a few saves from Rinaldi were added, in their first match in Serie A. Napoli tried until the end but the yellow-blue area was clogged up and the stars didn’t shine with their usual light this time: McTominay’s lamp came on intermittently and Hojlund didn’t find the right opportunity. Ball possession (69 versus 31 percent) was irrelevant.
At the end of the first half Conte had instructed deputy Stellini to insert Neres, Spinazzola and Elmas. And the maneuver on the flanks had livened up a bit. Nothing more. Napoli are playing with a dozen players due to the series of injuries that have plagued them since the summer. As soon as there are changes – four this time compared to the team that shone last Sunday in Milan – the game suffers. And then yesterday, as the minutes passed and the gaps became increasingly clogged, the attackers got caught up in the frenzy and were not cool enough to shoot. Conte hasn’t found the key to getting the better of the extremely defensive tactics of the last two teams he faced at Maradona. And this is the second important opportunity missed, regardless of McTominay’s goal canceled out by VAR, because there was an entire match available, but Napoli did not play with the determination and clarity that had been seen in Milan when Inter had taken the lead and the team, with its leader sent off, gritted its teeth and went on the attack.
The swing of results continues. First, there were points dropped against Torino, Udinese, Como, Bologna and Verona. It is in these matches, rather than in direct comparisons, that a team builds its successes. And yet this did not happen. In the confusing final there were only central shots easily blocked by deb Rinaldi. We must recover the energy that inevitably fades by playing, always with the same or almost the same players, every three days: on Saturday there is Sassuolo at Maradona and then the mission to Copenhagen, decisive for earning the Champions League play-offs. Napoli must not lose clarity, courage and enthusiasm. The return round begins in two days, there is still a lot to do, recovering the best resources, from the injured to Neres, who played just over half an hour yesterday: he came on in the 57th minute, and left in the 90th minute because he suffered pain.
Clinging to the excessive power of the VAR, as well as to some unfavorable whistles from the referee Fabbri, would be wrong, even if Conte’s pre-match message deserves reflection: “I don’t want to go back to episodes in which many coaches are protagonists and this means that something isn’t working.” It is a reality that the referee Rocchi should deal with in a very difficult moment for the refereeing category. What the VAR decides cannot be questioned. Yesterday in the first half of Inter-Lecce, revoking the penalty called for the Nerazzurri following a report from Lissone, the Neapolitan Maresca pointed out into the microphone: «Contrary to what I saw». The VAR is infallible and untouchable.
