In the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia, there was an upset. Napoli played at home against Frosinone, and Napoli suffered a heavy defeat to their opponents in this game. Both teams were scoreless in the first half, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. In the second half, Napoli collapsed, and with Barrenechea, Caso, Shedila and Arui, Napoli lost 0-4 and missed out on the last eight.
In this match, neither team sent their main force to meet the opposition. In the 63rd minute of the game, Napoli replaced Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, but with the introduction of these two main attackers, Napoli was immediately stunned by the opponent. Napoli's big defeat to a Serie A relegation team on home soil was a big surprise.
Doesn't Napoli want to win the Coppa Italia? They are too far behind in Serie A, there is little hope of the Champions League, the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup are chances to win the title, but Napoli are out of the Coppa Italia early. 0-4, 5 of 8 games! The first team in the Champions League emerged, and the 580 million pseudo-giants were likely to be eliminated by the double kill.
Take a look at Napoli's recent results, 0-1 Empoli, 2-1 Atalanta, 2-4 Real Madrid, 0-3 Inter, 0-1 Juventus, 2-0 Braga, 2-1 Cagliari, 0-4 Frosinone. Napoli's recent 3-5 defeat has resulted in them sitting fifth in Serie A, 14 points behind leaders Inter Milan, having only qualified after the final round of the group in the Champions League and having already been eliminated in the Coppa Italia.
Don't look at Napoli won the Serie A championship last season, the whole team is worth 580 million euros, and has the most expensive squad in Serie A (Inter 560 million), but they are just a pseudo-giant, last season's results were like a flash in the pan, and then this season they lost their strong team style.
This season, Napoli is weak when it is strong, losing to Real Madrid in both legs, and losing to Inter Milan and Juventus. Lazio and Fiorentina were also in good shape, with Napoli also losing and Napoli drawing with Milan and only winning against Atalanta. Napoli entered a period of turmoil after winning the Serie A title, Garcia and Mazzari were obviously unable to replace Spalletti, Osimhen had also had conflicts with the team before, and Napoli had dropped too much compared to last season.
Don't look at Barcelona's situation is not good, but Barcelona's strength on paper is still above Napoli. Barcelona's central defenders are strong and are expected to limit Osimhen, and Cancelo is right opposite Kvaratskhelia, as long as they hold down Napoli's two strong points, Napoli will be difficult to fight back. Moreover, Napoli's record as a strong team this season is too poor, and Barcelona is very hopeful of winning both legs to break into the top 8.