Napoli-Monza 0-0: the Neapolitans do not overcome the Brianza barrier and only get one point

Naples 29 December 2023 - The defense of Palladino it is an impassable wall for this version of the Napoli di Mazzarri. To the Maradona the Neapolitans did not go beyond a goalless draw against Monza in the last match of the calendar year. A bad match, where the hosts lacked the opportunity to overcome the opposition's rearguard, while the red and whites regretted the missed penalty in the second half from Pessina, thanks to the good save of Meret.

First half

Mazzarri relies on the 4-3-3 to look for the three points against the Monza. He's not there on defense Nathan, therefore space for Juan Jesus paired with Rrahmani, while Mario Rui e By Lorenzo occupy the bands. Director's keys in the hands of Lobotka, Supported by Zambo Anguissa e Zielinski. In attack Breakers occupies the central area, supported by Zerbin e kvaratskhelia. Palladino surprisingly gives up Hit and array Given Mota alongside Carboni, behind Columbo. They play in midfield Pereira, Akpa Akpro, Pessina e Cyurria, before By Gregorio there are between the posts D'Ambrosio, Caldirola and by surprise Gagliardini.

It starts strong Napoli, chasing the opening goal right from the start, against a team from Brianza that was very fragile in the first quarter of an hour of the championship. He tries Anguissa from twenty-five meters with a powerful right shot. The shot, however, is deflected and ends easily in the arms of the goalkeeper Monza. At the tenth still the Napoli within Breakers to look for the winning turn with the right, but the attempt was imprecise on the bottom. The team then tries to react Palladino, with good play by Columbo, which opens for Pereira. The winger's deflected cross shot ends up just wide of the far goal post Meret, immobile on the occasion.

Fun and lively match in the early stages, which sees the pace drop as the minutes pass. The Napoli maintains a small margin in ball possession and territorial superiority, but the Monza he closes the spaces well, making the home team's dribbling ineffective and thus forcing the Neapolitans to ask for something more from their individuality. Try it first kvaratskhelia on the left, with a beautiful special slalom between the defenders, before releasing the shot to Anguissa: attempt then rejected. Then the Cameroonian midfielder himself also tries his hand at individual percussion. However, he saves to the ground By Gregorio coming out low, before a possible shot on goal.

The rhythm of the game collapses and with it the emotions on the pitch. We have to wait half an hour to see any updates on the match scoresheet, with the yellow card waved against Pereira for the retention in the one on one with kvaratskhelia between the sideline and the short side of the Campania penalty area. Following the development of the set piece, the cross lands at the near post Breakers, who tries to continue the header ball, but no one manages to take the hint. On the flip in front, he attacks with good density Monza, but the cross of Pereira it is comfortable in the arms of Meret.

The first half enters its final bars and the Napoli try to find the opening goal before the break. Stunning cross from Mario Rui from the trocar for Anguissa's perfect cut. The Cameroonian shoots with confidence from close range. But the attempt remains central and is prey to the super reflex of Di Gregory. On the rebound he volleys By Lorenzo, but the ball rears up. A minute later, at the forty-first minute. Zerbin snatches the ball from Cyurria and runs to the baseline, then looks for a teammate's cut to the far post. Excellent slide Gagliardini to put the winger's serve into a corner.

The Neapolitans again in the last minute of the first half: kvaratskhelia receives quickly and can target the opponent. The Georgian moves the ball to the right, leaving it on the spot D'Ambrosio, thus arriving at a shot on goal. However, the ball ends up just wide to the left of By Gregorio. Last ring of the first half, which precedes the double whistle by a few seconds Beautiful which sends the teams to rest, without injury time, with the match at 0-0 

Second half

Palladino makes a substitution at half-time, taking over Pereira and sending into the field Birindelli. Mazzarri instead he confirms the eleven who started the match. Just as happened in the first half, the team started strong in the second half too Napoli, Monza instead he struggled to contain the Neapolitans in the very first stages, with the new player himself Birindelli immediately earning a yellow card for a hard sliding tackle Mario Rui. The Campania team crushed the Lombard team in their own half, but the scoring opportunities were lacking. On the other hand, we had to wait until the 55th minute to find the guests' first shot on target of the match, with the shot attempted by Carboni, pinned to the ground by Meret.

The occasion, although not very dangerous, triggers the reaction of the Napoli. One minute after the attempt Carboni in fact it accelerates again kvaratskhelia. The Georgian exchanges perfectly with Breakers, with the number 81 only putting his teammate in front of the goal: Kvara's attempt, however, is central, keeping her there By Gregorio. The Campania winger despairs, aware of having devoured a great scoring opportunity.

Palladino tries to give new life to his team, bringing in his own leading playmaker: Hit, which he notes Carboni. Barely three minutes pass and he remains on the ground First Akpro, who suffers from a strain in his right leg. Forced to leave the pitch, the Frenchman comes in in his place Bondo.

The inputs give energy to the Monza, who in the 66th minute on the counterattack came very close to scoring the lead. First the rush of Birindelli, who leads the winger to shoot from a tight angle: he blocks with his feet Meret. But it keeps alive Given Mota, who serves to the far post Hit. Stop and tip shot by the playmaker, who finds the opposition with the hand of Mario Rui. Beautiful he is well positioned and has no doubts: penalty kick for the Brianza team. Heated protests by the Neapolitans, which lead to warnings from By Lorenzo e Juan Jesus. He goes for the spot kick Pessina, who tries to displace with a very long run-up Meret. The goalkeeper of Napoli but he is amazing and not only saves, but blocks the shot from eleven meters which is very reviewable by the red and white Campitano, who shoots low without power and without angling the shot too much, the Neapolitan goalkeeper dives well to his left.

The penalty missed by the opponents shakes the Azzurri, who with a vertical move in the 71st minute also come very close to taking the lead. Great vertical ball by kvaratskhelia for the cut by the former Frosinone player, whose attempt however ends high over the crossbar. The winger despairs after the missed opportunity from an excellent position. Mazzarri so he resorts to the first substitutions of his team, when the match enters the last twenty minutes: they enter first Lindstrom e Gaetano, just for Zerbin e Zielinski, then enter also Contini for Meret, with the goalkeeper having suffered physical injuries after the penalty. The answer of Palladino is entrusted to a double exchange, with thing e City for Columbo e D'Ambrosio, the latter also down due to a physical problem, in a challenge that is making the protagonists on the pitch pay a very high price. 

The match thus enters the last ten minutes of play, with the atmosphere on the pitch starting to get heated. The physicality increases, the harsh interventions increase and the yellow cards arrive: the sooner the better City to spend the admonition on kvaratskhelia, then it is Gaetano for Napoli to end up in the villains' notebook Beautiful, for a foul on Cyurria, launched on the counterattack. Nervousness and tension grows, a heated argument between Bondo e kvaratskhelia, which costs a Mazzarri the red card, guilty of having gone far outside his technical area to separate the two players, instead the two protagonists of the argument on the green rectangle were booked.

Try to lean forward Napoli in the finale: he also enters Simeon for Lobotka, for a front-wheel drive blue team. Just like what happened at the end of the first half, the Napoli tries several times to overcome the Brianza defense, attacking with full force, but all the shots that filter through the opponent's wall are easy to manage for By Gregorio. In the first of six minutes of injury time Gaetano receives a delightful service inside the area. which puts him head to head By Gregorio from a very favorable position. The attempt, however, is not too angled: the red and white goalkeeper stretches out and deflects it for a corner. Also expelled Palladino in the final extratime, interrupted several times by great nervousness on the pitch and on the benches. However, the red card for the Brianza coach is the last emotion of the match: in the 97th minute Beautiful in fact he blew the whistle three times and made the 0-0 draw official Napoli e Monza in the two teams' last match of 2023.