De Giovanni on Napoli's collapse: the gap with Inter is on the bench

Napoli has shown that it can compete with Inter, but the difference in the squads emerged at the decisive moment. This is the analysis of Maurizio De Giovanni, who spoke to Radio Tutto Napoli after the comeback suffered at San Siro.

The writer highlighted how the Neapolitan team held their own better than expected against what he considers the strongest team in the league. “I thought and I still think that Inter is by far the strongest team in the Italian league,” explained De Giovanni, emphasizing how the Nerazzurri had left two or three starters on the bench ahead of Tuesday’s away match in Madrid against Real in the Champions League.

The critical point, according to the analysis, was the management of the two-goal lead. “I don’t think a team with top ambitions can find itself 2-0 up in the sixtieth minute and lose the match,” he observed. “That’s something that can happen to an average team, to a small team. It can happen to Bologna, it can happen to Udinese to go 2-0 up and then suffer the comeback of a much stronger team.”

The substantial difference emerged from the benches: when Lucca, Neres, and Gilmour came on for Napoli, Thuram, Bonny, and Çalhanoğlu came on for Inter. De Giovanni harshly criticized the use of a player inadequate for that kind of match, who “despite being almost two meters tall, conceded a headed goal by mistiming his intervention in a glaring way.”

The overly defensive attitude in the final part did the rest. The team dropped back practically into their own six-yard box, allowing the Nerazzurri to attack with ten men without creating any more danger up front. The chances to close out the match fell to the wrong feet: “they fall to Lucca’s foot and not to Gabriel Jesus, they fall to Anguissa’s foot and not to McTominay’s, and so you can’t land the knockout blow.”