3-0! Mr. 80 million is in a slump, Napoli is hammering the purple lily, waiting for the Blue Eagles to knock Inter
As the defending champion of Serie A, Napoli's record in the new season is very disappointing, 20 points behind the top Inter after 20 rounds, and the hope of a second consecutive title is quite slim. On this matchday, Napoli started their Super Cup journey and faced Fiorentina in the semi-finals. Kvaratskhelia did nothing, Ikone did not score a penalty, Simeone Jr. scored, Zelbin scored twice in 2 minutes, Napoli beat the Purple Lily 3-0, the first to advance to the final, waiting for the winner between Inter and Lazio.
With Osimhen and Anguissa both playing in the Africa Cup of Nations, Mazzari was unable to put out the strongest line-up, with Golini as the starting goalkeeper in a 3-4-3 formation, Di Lorenzo, Rahmani and Gabriel Jesus at the back, Lobotka and Cayust in midfield, Mazzoki and Mario Rui on either side, and Simeone Jr. and Kvaratskhelia and Politano forming a trident.
As soon as the referee's whistle blew, Napoli launched a tidal wave of attacks against the Purple Lily's goal. In the 10th minute of the opening game, Politano cut inside on the right side, shot hard with his feet at the top of the penalty area, and Terracciano flew to lift the ball off the crossbar with one palm. In the 22nd minute, Napoli played a quick counter-attack, Jesus broke through the Fiorentina defense with a diagonal kick, and Simeone Jr. cut in from behind and scored from a tight angle to break the deadlock 1-0.
With a goal in hand, Napoli's defense is not reassuring. In the 29th minute, Biraghi crossed from the left, Lucas Martinez hit the goal with a header, smashed it on the post and bounced back, Bonaventura crossed the situation, Beltran pushed and hit, once equalized for Fiorentina, but unfortunately the former was offside.
In the 42nd minute, Bonaventura advanced in the middle, and suddenly sent a cold arrow from outside the penalty area, grazing the post and going out of bounds. In the final stages of the first half, Ikone broke through on the left side of the penalty area, Mario Rui tripped the opponent to the ground with his outstretched leg, and the referee blew the whistle to award a penalty. However, Ikone took it upon himself to send the ball flying, and Napoli escaped again and returned to the dressing room with a one-goal advantage.
Coming back in the second half, Fiorentina took the lead, and in the 57th minute, coach Italiano made two substitutions, Nzola and Sottier came on as substitutes, and Brecano and Ikorne, who missed a penalty, were withdrawn. Not to be outdone, Napoli came on in the 72nd minute with Zielinski, Lindström and Östigaard coming on as Kvaratskhelia left work early.
Kvaratskhelia, who is worth 80 million euros, had a sluggish season, with two successful dribbles, 33 touches and 15 lost possession, 0 dangerous passes and shots, and a rating of just 6.4.
However, Kvaratskhelia's performance was strained and had little impact on Napoli. In the 84th minute, Di Lorenzo crossed from a corner, and Zelbin, who had just come on as a substitute, grabbed another point, and Napoli sealed the win 2-0. In the 86th minute, Zelbin made a long-distance run to score a brace, and Napoli rewrote the score to 3-0!
With a 3-0 blow to Fiorentina, Napoli advanced to the Italian Super Cup final first, waiting for the winner between Inter and Lazio.