Napoli's tricky start continues with home loss against Fiorentina
Following their narrow 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, Napoli returned to domestic action looking to close the gap to SA leaders AC Milan.
With 14 points from their opening seven fixtures, the season has hardly been a write-off so far for the Scudetto holders, but they have failed to match the form they showed under Luciano Spalletti, while the recent Victor Osimhen saga has hardly helped their title defence.
Against a Fiorentina outfit with whom they entered the clash level on points, the hosts had the first real sighting of goal when Giovanni Di Lorenzo fired over from an angle.
However, it was the visitors who instead took the lead before the 10-minute mark as Josip Brekalo slotted through Alex Meret’s legs immediately after Lucas Martínez Quarta had hit the post.
Napoli were dealt a further setback when midfielder André-Frank Zambo Anguissa was forced from the field of play - the fact he was replaced by striker Giacomo Raspadori showed Rudi Garcia’s clear intention to give his side more attacking impetus.
In the end, it was Osimhen who hauled his team back onto level terms. With seconds remaining before HT, the Nigerian intercepted Fabiano Parisi’s chest back to Terracciano, drawing a foul from the goalkeeper and subsequently earning his side a penalty.
The last spot-kick the forward took, in the 0-0 draw with Bologna in September, led to a bizarre turn of events that saw Osimhen mocked on social media by his own employers but, instead of missing as he had done on that occasion, he found the bottom corner with aplomb.
After the break, the game opened up and, in the early stages of the second period, both sides fashioned huge openings. Jonathan Ikoné was a particular threat, first hitting the post following a counterattack before striking a shot from distance beyond the post.
At the other end, Osimhen was denied by a strong Terracciano hand, a stop which proved important as, shortly after the hour mark, La Viola restored their advantage. The ball did fall to him fortuitously in the penalty area, but Giacomo Bonaventura displayed great composure as he slotted into the bottom corner.
Vincenzo Italiano’s outfit added gloss to the scoreline through Nicolás González, who finished off a swift counterattack, and they now sit fourth in the table after providing further proof of their credentials as top-four challengers.
Napoli, meanwhile, already have plenty of ground to make up on Milan, and they will need to find more consistency after the international break if they want to reign supreme in Italy once more.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jonathan Ikoné (Fiorentina)
