Fiorentina-Napoli 0-3, Conte extends his lead in the standings with Neres, Lukaku and McTominay

Florence, 4 January 2025 - On the one hand the offensive waste and defensive carelessness of the Fiorentina and on the other hand the cynicism in front and the attention behind the Napoli: a mix that rewards guests, who move on to Franchi thanks to the networks of Neres, Lukaku (on penalty) and McTominay. If the first goal scored by the Azzurri is an individual feat, the other two bear the signature (so to speak) of the Viola defence: first Moreno lands Anguissa in the area, effectively gifting the penalty to Lukaku (which this time, unlike last week, hits the mark) and then Comuzzo set the table for the right-hand plate McTominay. For the Napoli, at the end of a fairytale first half of the season, comes a very precious victory, also with the absences of Good morning, kvaratskhelia e politan, what does it mean 44 points at the halfway point and, above all, a virtual temporary escape in standings, waiting for the many recoveries to be played. For the Fiorentina instead, net of the commitment and tactical experiments that probably need to be reviewed Palladino, the period of decline is confirmed after a super first part of the season.

The official lineups

 Palladino choose a 4-2-3-1 that he sees between the posts De Gea, with Dodo, Comuzzo, Ranieri e Parisi in a defense shielded by Judicial e Mandrake: the only tip is Kean, assisted by Moreno, Beltran e Sottil. Tale reply with a 4-3-3 open from Meret, protected by By Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus e Olive: in midfield there are Anguissa, Lobotka e McTominay, while the attack line includes Neres, Lukaku e Spinazzola.  

First half

 The first flash of the match is from Neres, who puts in a cross that goes to the other side Spinazzola, thanks to the smoothness of Dodo, guiltily lets it slip away on the bottom. At 5' a through ball from Beltran rewards the cut of Moreno, whose cross towards Kean is rejected by the blue defense. At 7' a trailer of Sottil arm the right from outside of Mandrake, rejected for a corner by Neres: from the developments of shooting from the flag Dodo sends the ball into the curve. The Fiorentina he insists right on Sottil, who unleashes a left-footed diagonal that ends up wide. At 15' the Napoli takes the lead with Olive after an exchange in the strait with Lukaku: both the Azzurri were offside and therefore everything was cancelled. The action started from Spinazzola, who in the 18th minute took matters into his own hands with a shot that De Gea rejects without problems. Again Spinazzola, the surprise move of Tale, earns a corner by winning yet another duel with Dodo, good at recovering in turn. At 22' Lobotka he puts a soft ball towards the far post, where there is McTominay, but he heads wide: the same fate befalls the conclusion from outside the area in the 26th minute Neres. At 30' the second attempt by number 7 had a very different outcome, as he received the assist from Lukaku, drunk on fakes Ranieri and with his right he goes to punish De Gea on his pole. The reaction of the Fiorentina is entrusted to an initiative of Sottil which yields a corner. The Viola's forcing bears fruit in the 35th minute, when Kean he turns the cross into the left-footed net Sottil: everything is ruined after a touch of the hand, confirmed by the Yes. The Fiorentina insists, thanks to a difficult phase of the visiting defense: at 39' Mandrake a shot explodes from outside Meret deviates not without anxiety. At 42' Parisi fishing in the middle of the area Dodo, who jumps with his head but is unable to keep the ball low. The referee Manganiello assign 2' recovery during which practically nothing else happens.

Second half

 The recovery opens with a serpentine of Sottil, which slips at the moment of the cross, making the work easier Neres. The Napoli responds at 53' with a dialogue from Anguissa e Neres, in turn supplied by Lukaku: the ball arrives at McTominay, who from a good position does not find the mirror. Shortly after the Fiorentina she hurts herself with Moreno, who in tackle knocks down Anguissa, which had taken up his time: Manganiello indicates the disk, from which this time Lukaku he's not wrong. Palladino it really takes away Moreno, Together with Parisi: I'm coming in Hit e Goossens. In the 61st minute, the Viola created three chances in a few seconds: first Meret and then Rrahmani reject respectively on Mandrake e Beltran, who then shortly after heads the cross wide Dodo. On the other side Lukaku launches at speed Neres, who this time from the edge of the small area hits only the outside of the net. At 65' Goossens with his head he tries the lob on a deflected shot from Judicial: in this case too, only the upper part of the target moves. Fiorentina attacks but is guilty of cynicism, while the Napoli it's the exact opposite, making the most of other people's mistakes: at 68' Comuzzo deflects the low cross as badly as it could Anguissa, turning it into a handy assist for the winning shot by McTominay, which brings down the hat-trick. The Viola, despite everything, do not give up and send the usual Sottil, served by Judicial, but the right whistles just wide to the left of Meret. Also Tale he puts his hand to the bench: inside Simeon for Lukaku, while on the other side it takes over Richardson for Mandrake. At 75' first Juan Jesus rejects the cross of Goossens and then Rrahmani walls on the blow of Kean. Palladino inserts Cataldi for Judicial e Kouame for Beltran. At 81' McTominay tear for Spinazzola, who crosses for Anguissa, whose turn ends outside. Tale gives minutes to ngonge e Mazzocchi for Neres e Spinazzola: soon after Olive he gets hurt and leaves the field Breakers, with gilmour which it replaces instead Lobotka. The injury time is 4, the first of which was given a penalty of Breakers weapon the header of Simeon, off target: it is in fact the last flash of a match that was decided some time ago.