With Inter losing, Napoli had a huge chance to gain ground in the Scudetto race. They did, however, instead only manage a 1-1 draw with Bologna on Monday night. The match took place in Italy and saw Napoli’s reserve goalkeeper, Simone Scuffet, stepping in for Alex Meret, who fell ill shortly before kickoff. Gianluigi Scuffet made a key diving stop in stoppage time. His tremendous effort ensured that Napoli only dropped a single point, though they’ll rue their inability to gain more ground on league leaders Inter Milan.
The first 45 minutes were controlled by a rampant Napoli side, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa to the fore. The forward from Milan, Italy, opened the scoring on the first goal just 18 minutes into the match. He picked up a loose ball on the halfway line and outpaced the entire Bologna backline. Anguissa rounded goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski and slotted the ball into an empty net to put Napoli ahead in the 19th minute.
Second Half Struggles
For all their impressive buildup play and creative attacking talent, Napoli fall apart completely in the second half. Manager Cristian Stellini acknowledged this shift, stating, “It was a very good first half, we had prepared an aggressive approach with a lot of movement and intensity, which we did very well.” He admitted that his group didn’t have the proper mentality coming out of the intermission.
After that break, we were definitely missing something, maybe just the confidence, I don’t know, maybe we were focused more on defending than attacking. When you’ve got no momentum in this climate, going up against a team as hot as Bologna is right now can prove deadly. Restoring such momentum is a genuine challenge. Stellini added.
Bologna equalized in the latter stages of the match, but it was Scuffet who played a critical role in preventing a defeat. Most notably in stoppage time, he came up big on Bologna’s Emil Holm as the defender was getting ready to take a powerful shot on goal. Scuffet’s showing deserves a hearty recommendation because this was the first shot he saved in earnest.
Bologna’s Perspective
Speaking after the match, Bologna manager Vincenzo Italiano was pleased with his side’s performance even in the stalemate. “A draw against one of the best teams in Serie A is still very good,” he remarked. Italiano credited his players for maintaining an impressive run of good form. All the while, they improved the quality of their artistic production.
We’ll gladly accept the point and that stellar performance from the players. Indeed, he continued on that theme, stating that you need to be resolute when facing such a huge enemy as Napoli.
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