Last Sunday, Napoli significantly increased their lead in Serie A to four points after a stunning victory over Verona. At the end of the game, the score stood at 2:0, and the champion Inter Milan took second place after the match against Venice (1:0). The best bookmakers were almost unanimous in determining the favorite and the underdog. At the same time, if you look at the odds for online betting, Napoli did not have a significant advantage.
For example, on https://gg.bet/en, the Full Time Result bet for this match was as follows: Napoli: -450 and Draw: +475. A significant unfortunate situation was an own goal by Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo. In addition, Andre-Frank Zambo Angissa, in the second half, provided Napoli with a significant advantage in the goalless draw of Atalanta with Udinese on Saturday. This significantly strengthened their position regarding upcoming competition for the second league title in 3 seasons.
Ambiguous Position of the Teams
At the same time, Napoli’s overall lead does not seem so impressive. The reason is that Inter has 2 more games in hand, and the first one is against a fairly strong rival, Bologna. Atalanta, which is still one point behind in 3rd place, also has to overcome an additional match due to participation in the Italian Super Cup. The event will be held in Saudi Arabia, where the team will play against Juventus.
This will happen on the eve of Napoli going to Bergamo for a grand match next weekend. According to Napoli coach Antonio Conte, the team has changed its tactics dramatically since their games last summer. He is sure that the players interact better with each other and have improved their technique. He does not hide his delight and is 100% proud of his teammates.
Montipo could not do anything about any of Napoli’s goals. Particularly noticeable for Verona fans was the ball hitting Montipo in the back after Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s shot in the fifth minute. Then, the ball ricocheted off the goalkeeper’s back and crawled over the line. Later, in the 62nd minute, Montipo barely saw Anguissy quickly flash past him. This happened after the Cameroon midfielder exchanged passes with Romelu Lukaku.
However, Napoli had much more serious plans, and Montipo did not allow them to happen. Napoli’s advantage in the field gave the team the opportunity to break the score even further. For instance, the already legendary player experienced several excellent saves on his teammates, namely Scott McTominay and David Neres. These were dangerous attacks by the hosts at the beginning of the 2nd half, just when defender Amir Rahmani also headed off the line.
It has now become clear to Verona that Napoli is no longer the team they were able to crush 3-0 on the first day of the season. Importantly, such a performance was possible even without winger Hvichi Kvaratskhelia, who was a real star who could pull out of any difficult situation. Incidentally, Hvichi recently asked to sell the club due to a reported €80 million transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. Traditionally, Neres replaced Matteo Politano on the right flank. This time, he proved to be a worthy replacement for Hvichi on the other flank, helping Napoli advance in the vanguard and get ahead of the pursuit.
Inter on a Roll
As for Inter, Matteo Darmian led the team to a gracious win on the Venetian lagoon and scored the one (and only) goal of the game in the 16th minute. It was his second goal of the season after the Venice goalkeeper was able to save a shot from Lautaro Martinez and also Filip Stankovic. After the game, he gave an interview in which he said that the team works as one and is ready to face the opponent no matter what. He noted that he was lucky to be in front of the goal and he took advantage of the great opportunity.
Anyone who follows football knows that Inter has had problems finishing matches this season. The last victory (and sixth win in Serie A) came after Simone Inzaghi’s team lost a 2-2 lead in the Italian Super Cup final against Milan.
The away side was significantly dominant then and had every chance of winning by a larger margin. But Stankovic changed the course of the game, first of all, by making a brilliant save from Davide Frattesi. Just a few seconds later, this arrangement paid off when the post did not prevent the USA midfielder Gianluca Busio. His performance on the field allowed Inter to finish the match with 3 points. After the game, Inzaghi was asked about his impressions, and he replied that it was not easy after losing in the final, but the team was brilliant and showed their maximum.
Previously, Genoa continued its development under the leadership of Patrick Vieira. Then the players managed to get their first home win of the season, 1-0. This happened in a game against relegated rivals Parma in front of new majority shareholder Dan Souka.
As a result, Genoa managed to improve its position and climbed to 11th place with 23 points. The main problem was being one point behind Roma, who had pulled out a draw with Bologna (2:2) thanks to a controversial penalty by Artem Dovbyk in the 8th minute of injury time.