Napoli, from Atalanta to Atalanta: Lukaku's revenge

Naples, 19 January 2025 - From a bloody defeat that had the flavour of an awakening after months of big dreams and copious whistles at the time of substitution to a very important victory that is worth the +7 in the standings right on the rival in question and signed by the one who in the first round had come out with the most broken bones: the protagonists of the story are the Napoli, l'Atalanta e Romelu Lukaku, a triple plot that is repeated during the season, but with clearly different outcomes from those of the match Maradona.  

From worst to best on the pitch

  A Fuorigrotta the Nerazzurri passed, who won that afternoon 3-0 apparently issuing two verdicts that have now been almost completely overturned: the first concerns its own candidacy for the Scudetto fight and the second instead the rejection of that of the Azzurri. Almost three months pass and the situation reverses: the Napoli conquers the Gewiss Stadium and inflicts on theAtalanta a gap in the rankings of 7 points which, at the dawn of the return round, is starting to have the flavour of a verdict. Of course, the game is stillInter, who could potentially be the top of the table with the same points as the Azzurri, but for the latter trying to eliminate a contender from the question was and is the first objective, apparently achieved on Saturday evening among other things through a nice swing of emotions. The dance was opened by Mateo Retegui before the blue recovery played by Matteo Politano e Scott McTominay and of the momentary 2-2 signed by Ademola Lookman, for a draw that probably the Napoli he would not have even disdained it in light of the good performance provided by theAtalanta. Instead, as already happened this season, in the sign of extreme cynicism in front and a Alex Meret in great form, the Azzurri end up collecting the entire loot, perhaps even slightly beyond their own merits. And this time the scalp bears the signature of Lukaku, in turn author of the classic match precisely 'alla Lukaku'. Successful side passes, failed side passes, duels lost with the defender on duty and entire minutes out of the game and without touching the ball: who knows how many would have wanted to replace the Belgian before the winning header on an assist from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, perhaps the most revitalized player since Antonio Conte. And so, the one who for many until that moment was the worst on the pitch risks becoming the author of the championship goal, as the one who closed the scoresheet and who seems to have also closed the tricolour hopes of theAtalanta, bounced right at the key moment of the season. Perhaps also a question of winning mentality, which is not lacking in the duo Conte-Lukaku, who in the shadow of Vesuvius 'risk' being able to write an extraordinary page in their history as a sporting couple.

From Atalanta to Atalanta

  The goal of the 50 points cut in the rankings, an almost symbolic figure reached the day after the official announcement of the transfer to Paris Saint-Germain di Khvisha Kvaratskhelia and among other things by conquering a historically difficult field, it seems to be the definitive seal on the ambitions of the Napoli. The same ambitions that at the beginning of November had been mortified Maradona right from theAtalanta, who in one of his best performances of the season put the Azzurri in check at a time when, ironically, there were no defections. In the meantime, apart from the Georgian, the last emblem of the Scudetto attack to have said goodbye, is also missing Alessandro Good morning, the pillar of defense whose absence few are noticing, a testimony to how the group has truly become more important than the individual. Easier said in good times, less so in bad. He knows it well Lukaku, which of the disastrous first leg againstAtalanta he became, in spite of himself, the emblem and also the scapegoat, with whistles at the time of his substitution. And yet, already at the time the number 11 had achieved a good turnover in terms of goals and especially assists. It is difficult to make an impact with only this loot in a place that in the last decades has witnessed the more or less long passage of several of the best strikers ofEurope. In the list, career in hand, should also be included Lukaku, but for many football fans this is not the case. The Belgian is accused of several 'original sins', some of which almost have the flavour of an urban legend. True, the mass of Lukaku does not always help him during a match or in the long term in managing such a powerful engine, but it is equally obvious the work of strength carried out every Sunday to break down even the most stubborn defenses. A 'playful' square like the Neapolitan one can in theory prefer another type of attacker, but today the present of the Napoli is called Lukaku, the most faithful of Tale who made this purchase the condition for his arrival on a bench that was burning in the summer. Doing worse than the previous year, that of tenth place in the standings, was complicated, if not impossible, but from here to thinking of such a sudden rebirth there is a difference. Instead, things went exactly like this thanks to Tale and the very expensive transfer campaign supported by his club, which 'gave' him (so to speak) precisely Big Rome, a blessing and a curse for coaches, fantasy footballers and fans. It is difficult to know today whether the goal scored by Gewiss Stadium whether it was the one of the scudetto or in any case the definitive kick to the scudetto ambitions of theAtalanta: the certainty is that if the Napoli he cut quota 50 points must also thank his own striker, who took on the burden of the obvious absence of Fourth, with which he was intermittently building a very respectable axis. Things went differently, but apparently (for now) neither the Napoli nor Lukaku they have suffered no psychological backlash: the dream of the Scudetto is more alive than ever, 'risking' becoming a real objective that very few would have predicted in the summer.

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