How were Napoli able to exploit Roma’s haphazard disorganisation?

Roma welcomed Napoli to the capital for a high stakes Derby del Sole. Roma are struggling to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season and fired Eusebio Di Francesco as they hoped to get the bump necessary to secure them a place in Europe’s top club competition. They brought in Claudio Ranieri, who recently lost his job at relegation-bound Fulham, as he looked to recapture the magic of 2009. The Roma-supporting Ranieri was previously in charge of the Giallorossi when they came within one point of winning Serie A, and hoped that he could galvanise the struggling side.

Napoli have taken 12 points out of an available 18 since returning from the winter break and have advanced to the quarter-finals in the UEFA Europa League after overcoming Red Bull Salzburg. While Napoli are 18 points behind Juventus, who seem set to win their eighth straight Serie A title, they have been impressive in their transition from Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3 to Carlos Ancelotti’s 4-4-2. Those who backed Napoli using their free betting tips would have been delighted with the outcome.

This game doesn’t bode well for Roma’s chances of catching AC Milan and Inter in the Champions League spots. Giving up a goal to Arkadiusz Milik in the first two minutes meant that Napoli were able to play on the counter-attack against a very poorly organised Roma side.

With Napoli creating chances, Roma scored a penalty against the run of play to go into the break at 1-1. However, Napoli soon put the contest to bed. By making a couple of key tweaks, and with better finishing, they scored three goals in 15 minutes to put the match out of sight.

Lineups

Claudio Ranieri made five changes from the side that fell 2-1 away to SPAL. An embarrassing loss to a team in the relegation zone led Ranieri to also change formation from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3. Stephan El Shaarawy missed the match through injury, replaced in the starting lineup by Diego Perotti. Justin Kluivert dropped to the bench, with his spot taken by Daniele De Rossi who started at the base of the midfield three.

The biggest changes came in the back line where three of the starters against SPAL were left on the bench: Juan Jesus, Iván Marciano, and Rick Karsdorp. They were replaced by Davide Santon, former Manchester City player Aleksandar Kolarov and Konstantinos Manolas.