Napoli, third draw in a row: the Olimpico is still the symbol of regrets

Naples, February 16, 2025 - The 'pareggitis' virus which this year has effectively removed its arch rival from the championship race well in advance Juventus, albeit in a smaller format, has moved to the Napoli, which suffers its third consecutive 'x' which, like the previous ones, is full of regrets. Probably on the eve of the away match at the home of Lazio, the Azzurri would have signed to leave undefeated from theOlympic especially in light of the serious injury emergency on the left lane which would then have forced Antonio Conte to hunt the 3-5-2 from the attic where it had ended up since the beginning of the season. Then, as often happens, the pitch says something else and in particular that the league leaders, although not in great shape in several respects, had managed to get their hands on a very complicated match made even more difficult by the almost instantaneous goal of Gustav Isaksen, the match winner of the Maradona. This time, however, the Azzurri rebel against the Danish law and immediately hit the target with James Raspadori, one who is almost always used to answering when called upon. This is the story of the first half: the second half instead sees Adam marusic thread Iván Provedel after the ball had bounced off the buttock of Mario gila following a cross from Matteo Politano. An extremely lucky carom that many, among friends and enemies (sportsmen) of the Napoli, were already adding to the list of good and propitious episodes of the most coveted goal at the end of the season. Instead, after Isaac, Napoli finds himself having to deal with another recurring 'tax': Boulaye Day, who has already gone down in history as the man who April 2023 postponed the Scudetto celebrations Maradona signing the1-1 of Salernitana, impacts and fixes the 2-2 final, a score destined to displease both rivals.  

Glass half full or half empty?

If the Azzurri lose the chance to attempt the first real escape of the championship or in any case to put more pressure on theInter, busy in the evening at home Juventus, the Lazio collects only one point from a challenge in which at times it has shown that it can legitimately aspire to the full stake which in turn would have meant an important leap in the fight for a place in the next Champions League. Yet, just like the Napoli, the Biancocelesti avoid an excessive defeat and so, in the end, the draw satisfies and at the same time dissatisfies everyone. In these cases, the heaviest weight on the scale of regrets falls on those who have been caught up and therefore on the Azzurri, who in the final minutes of the two games played in the championship atOlympic they practically left 4 points. At the same time, in these two challenges under consideration, both the Roma that the Lazio could have won, thus making the proverbial glass half empty but also half full at the same time. The true measure of the contents of the aforementioned glass will probably only be discovered after the final whistle. Inter-Juventus: in the event of a draw for the Nerazzurri or even a defeat, the sigh of relief for the Napoli it would be a great thing to have escaped the danger of the first overtaking after an immemorial time, although obviously the regrets for that missed escape are still there, now on record. If instead Simone Inzaghi and his boys managed to violate theAllianz Stadium, even in the face of imminent direct confrontation with Maradona, the stock market of the favourite for the championship would see its odds change significantly. In any case, an initial verdict, perhaps the only reliable one at this point in the season, is that this time the Napoli to win the championship, they will have to fight until the last match, without the possibility of accumulating a substantial advantage over aInter which seems much more than simply in the slipstream.

Market criticalities and exchange rate management

The rankings say so, very tight regardless of what the verdict will be.Allianz Stadium, but the progress of the league leaders also says so, having partially jammed right in the crucial phase of the championship, the one in which the final sprint started two years ago. The same much-discussed January transfer market seems to have left the Napoli almost at the mercy of events, as revealed by the first real injury emergency of the championship. The blanket on the left is short, perhaps more qualitatively than quantitatively, because Noah okafor is the designated replacement for Khvisha Kvaratskhelia, but his physical condition casts significant shadows. This is the story of the high lane, but the left-handed low lane also struggles if at the same time there are no Mathias Olivera and Leonardo Spinazzola and if you end up missing a wild card, as well as an element of extreme experience, like Mario Rui. That something is missing from the squad of Napoli It seems obvious, but not even the management by Tale of the resources available on the bench in the last matches is meeting with unanimous applause. The courage, actually imposed by events, to change the module of the Salento coach is not followed by the same daring in the choice of the ones drawn from the reserve group, with elements such as Cyril Ngonge e Billy gilmour would probably have deserved more consideration in terms of playing time. If these are the (perhaps) wrong notes, the entrance of politan, despite being used as a fifth and not as a pure winger, has actually turned the recovery around, allowing the Napoli to maintain that unbeaten run that has lasted since the first leg, the one decided at the Maradona da IsaacSince then, the Azzurri have raised the revs of their engines endlessly, even finding a streak of consecutive victories that reached 7 before the last three brakings that have put everything into perspective a bit. At least from the perspective of the fans or in any case of non-experts. Then there is Tale which does not fail to reiterate how the objectives at the beginning of the season were different and, to date, already fully secured. True, just as it is true that the appetite comes with eating and that in the meantime the Napoli he found himself deservedly at the top of the standings. A lead that is starting to falter, between causes of force majeure and internal criticalities that probably deserved better management in recent weeks.

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