There was some surprise amongst the footballing world when the Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentis chose the day after a 4-0 win in the Champions League to sack their coach Carlo Ancelotti. This win saw the Italian side qualify for the Champions League knockout stages but it was not enough to save the job of the coach who has already won the competition on three separate occasions. The combination of indifferent league form and significant unrest in the dressing room saw Ancelotti relieved of his position with the former Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso appointed in his place.
This match, away to Sassuolo, represented an opportunity for us to get a look at this Napoli side under their new coach and new tactics. Coaching changes midseason are always interesting as we see a new coach trying to implement their playing philosophy on a side that was built for someone else. Indeed, a large part of this Napoli side was at the club under Maurizio Sarri so they have experienced this change in style once already. Now they would have to do it all again.
Sassuolo are gaining a reputation as a side that plays an interesting style of football with an emphasis on positional play as they attack through the thirds. Under coach Roberto De Zerbi they have recruited well, often from within Italy, and created a young squad with a great deal of attacking intent.
This tactical analysis will show how Napoli came away with a difficult 2-1 Serie A win despite being outplayed for large periods of the match.
Team News
Similar tactical structures from each team but with important differences, as this analysis will show. Under De Zerbi Sassuolo prefer to use what looks like a 4-4-1-1 on paper. As the game progresses, however, you will quickly see that the wide midfielders, Jeremie Boga and Hamed Traore are not only far closer to the striker on terms of depth but they move inside to play in the half-spaces just off of the lone striker. The former Milan midfielder Manuel Locatelli controls the tempo of the match from the centre of the midfield while Alfred Duncan and Pedro Obiang cover ground and link the attacking and defensive units.
Gattuso appears to be going with the regular 4-3-3 with Napoli and as ever the keys in the attacking phase are Lorenzo Insigne, playing from the left, and Jose Callejon, from the right. Neither of those attacking players behaves as regular wingers and instead, they look to act as playmakers from the wide areas. In the midfield Napoli have a lot of talent with the Spanish international Fabian Ruiz, in particular, impressing since his transfer from Real Betis. Allan and Piotr Zielinski also offer different strengths to the midfield unit.
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