Udinese – Napoli: Is A Third Champion For Conte A Credible Ambition? (1-3)

In the long history of Italian football, no coach has won the Scudetto with three different clubs. On the grounds where Napoli won their last, they struggled to show elements that could take them towards the elite level: yet they keep on winning.

Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker.

When Victor Osimhen’s side-footed shot found the far corner, an eruption was made so loud in Udine that one would have assumed the Neapolitans had taken Vesuvius with them. Antonio Conte wants to harness the same energy that the title-winning squad had, but his team has a lot of problems.

Their recent loss at home to Lazio was a good example. In possession, central progression has been very hard to come by with Romelu Lukaku no longer possessing the abilities to hold possession up. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would have to receive deeper with no options to combine, now Napoli has to find more avenues with the Georgian injured for several weeks. Off the ball, it is easy to gain control against a team that struggles to press high effectively and wants to move into a passive medium block: Conte needs to find a more reliable structure if this Scudetto run has any legitimacy. 

Udinese started life under Kosta Runjaic in fine form, winning three of their first four games. Since then they’ve only gained ten points in eleven matches and Runjaic has struggled to find attacking fluency, having changed . . .