Napoli – AS Roma: Big Rom Spoils Ranieri’s Roman Return (1-0)

Once in Roman colors, Romelu Lukaku scored against his former team to puncture Claudio Ranieri’s return to managing in the capital. One of these teams had established much more control than the other, but this was a game more about the deficiencies in their systems than the advantages that either coach could bring to the table.

Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker.

Towards the end of Ranieri’s second stint, the Roman ultras expressed their gratitude to one of their own: “You made us fall in love with your Romanity, Mr Ranieri, one of us for eternity.”

When Roma calls, it's hard for men like Ranieri to turn them down. The last time he had to say goodbye was an emotional afternoon, not a dry eye when Danielle De Rossi also stepped away from his duty as captain, after nineteen years in the capital. However, the mess that the Friedkin Group has run Roma has called on Ranieri to come out of retirement, after Cagliari had given him his latest send-off. De Rossi’s sacking in September came as a huge surprise before Ivan Jurić struggled to mount any momentum and embarrassing defeats followed. Ranieri will bring stability, but is there any long-term vision for the Friedkins in the eternal city?

Long-term vision cannot be applied to Antonio Conte’s Napoli. After a summer running through back-three patterns, Conte has deployed a 4-2-2-2 formation in possession: designed for the wingers to make one-twos with Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay, although neither provide the reliable link-up work you might expect. Despite the problems . . .