We are now five games into this season’s Serie A campaign, and Napoli are one of four clubs who remain undefeated, currently sitting in second place behind Atalanta. Lazio have enjoyed a mixed start, losing once, drawing twice and winning twice – a record that leaves them in ninth place following their defeat to Napoli on matchday five.
Napoli finished last season off very strongly – a major contributing factor in the club finishing third and qualifying for this season’s UEFA Champions League. Seemingly, they have carried their impressive and deadly form over in this campaign too. This tactical analysis will provide insight into how Luciano Spalletti’s side overcame Lazio on their own ground, despite the home side taking an early lead. We will analyse the tactics deployed by Gli Azzurri in this fixture, as well as provide an analysis of Lazio’s collapse.
Lineups
Hosts Lazio lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with a starting eleven that was unchanged from their previous match against Sampdoria. Star striker Ciro Immobile lead the line with wide support from Mattia Zaccagni and ex-West Ham United man Felipe Anderson. Maurizio Sarri selected a strong midfield unit that included Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinković-Savić, with a back line that included Patric and Alessio Romagnoli.
Luciano Spallettis Napoli opted for a 4-2-3-1 with the goals coming from central defender Kim Min-Jae and winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Amir Rrahmani came into the side at centre-back, and he was joined at the back by Mário Rui who was positioned in at left-back. An entirely different lineup in midfield consisted of Stanislas Lobotka and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa in the deeper midfield roles, with Piotr Zieliński in the more attacking midfield role. Victor Osimhen was the lone striker.
