PSV Eindhoven – Napoli: An Open Void Swallows Conte Whole (6-2)

After defeat at the weekend, Napoli anticipated a big performance in Europe to return to form, only to be handed a brutal humiliation. In a game of heavy man-marking, the Napoli defense collapsed as PSV Eindhoven stormed through from a variety of positional rotations and tensions created against the low block.

Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker.

In the realms of the elites, Antonio Conte carries a pedigree in carrying teams to league titles, but it is in Europe where the development of his teams comes into question.

Two decades into his coaching career, there is a reason this enigma rears its head. Saturday night in Turin, Conte played both Mathías Olivera and Leonardo Spinazzola on the left, with David Neres on the right and Lorenzo Lucca in the attack. Despite Napoli being more active higher up the pitch this season, buildup issues remain with no pinning on the left, too many players behind the ball in situations and an over-reliance on longstanding patterns on the right side. Against Torino, it was ex-Napoli champion Giovanni Simeone who delivered a second consecutive away loss. Despite Napoli significantly adding to their squad depth, it seems that Conte is yet to strike the balance between league and European games throughout the week.

In the Eredivisie, PSV Eindhoven are under a similar predicament. A shock defeat to Telstar was followed by Union Saint-Gilloise winning away at the Philips Stadion: a crisis at the Dutch champions was on the cards. However, Bosz has found a solution in Jerdy Schouten dropping into the defensive line and the center-midfielders pushing further in the buildup . . .