Napoli – Lazio: Baroni Braves The Elements (0-1)

Lazio look to be one of the surprises of the season. Their schedule has been kind, but in the cooker of a cauldron atmosphere, their players did not melt under pressure. And as one of the main contenders continue to display deficiencies, the title race remains full of twists and turns.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

Juventus, Chelsea, now Napoli: can Antonio Conte create a championship winning camp with a squad that could not even qualify for continental competition for the third time in his career? In his previous posts, he was in charge of the runaway victors; that seems to be a far-fetched idea in this race to the summit of Serie A. The direction of displays has not been wholly convincing, while Inter and Atalanta are hot on their tails. But do not be deceived: Conte is a man who knows how to suffer to succeed.

Relative success at the clubs also accompanied Maurizio Sarri, who left Lazio in March 2024. While Marco Baroni brought 24 years of experience in dugouts to the post, he has not spent substantive time in the top flight. It has not mattered. He is making up for any lost time, leading the third highest scorers across the standings . . .