As both Napoli and Torino went into the tie, a lot was at stake. While it may seem like a trivial match, this game had important motives for both teams. On one hand, Napoli were trying to close the gap between them and Juventus. With Juventus blowing past opponents, it was critical for Napoli to not lose steam and let Juventus have an easy win. On the other hand, with five teams breathing down Champions League spots, Torino could not lose. With a resurgent AC Milan, the competition for Torino had only gotten significantly harder. Additionally, with the threat of Belotti being sold, Torino needed to secure a spot in either of the European leagues. This would allow them financial stability and most importantly, allow for the attraction of young talent. Thus, as both sides went in, the Italian league offered its viewers a potential feast of a match, with everything at stake.
Teamsheet
In this tactical analysis, we will look at how Napoli were held to a draw against Torino. Additionally, we tactically and statistically analyze the approaches and the drawbacks to each teams’ playing style.
Approaches From Napoli and Torino
Napoli were dominant in their possession, having 65% possession. They were also remarkably great at creating chances and shots for themselves. They would go on to create 26 shots to Torino’s 10. Napoli’s main approach was to attack from the left side. Approximately, 48% of their attacks happened on the left side. Like their style with Sarri, their attack involved the same automatisms of vertical combinations.
From the teamsheet, the most creative players can be seen on the left side, with Hysaj, Piotr Zielinski, and Lorenzo Insigne all resting on that side. While under Maurizio Sarri, intricate passing combinations would be made, leading to the goal, here Napoli relied mainly on the crossing. The crosses found themselves on the foot of Milik but it was the lack of finishing that frustrated Napoli.
On the other hand, Torino relied on set-pieces to start and engage their attacks. With a polar opposite approach, Torino attacked mainly on the right side, with 42% of their attacks stemming from there. Andrea Belotti and Berenguer found themselves combining with Silvestri and Ansaldi. Additionally, for Torino, it was the use of long and through balls that started and brought their attack to Napoli.
First Half Analysis
The first half was purely dominated by Napoli. For both sides, their first touches and passes were pretty poor but Napoli found themselves with the ball, consistently. This was due to the extremely poor usage of possession by Torino. Additionally, the passage of attack, as discussed before, was entirely focused on the left. Napoli stubbornly persisted in playing on the left side. Another thing to note here is the usage of Napoli’s two forwards, Insigne and Milik. Both of them were tasked in order to occupy two Torino’s centre backs. Their diverting runs along with the overlapping wing back often left a 2v1 in the halfspaces. The same action was repeated on the right-hand side, which meant that near post runs were being made. Often times, there was a 3v2, in Zone 17, which allowed for low crosses. This was the main attacking plan for Napoli’s perspective.
The problem was that Torino were very wasteful with their possession. The Napoli players would employ pressing traps, in which the area for the play would be restricted. Any loss of possession would lead to the wingbacks being exploited. Thus, there would be an abundance of space left behind the wingback. For this reason, Napoli chose to attack the left side. Thus, Napoli’s golden chances came through them defending Torino’s transitional attack and counter-attacking:
This pressing approach was very effective by Napoli as it isolated Berenguer and Belotti against the pair of Nikola Maksimovic and Manchester United target Kalidou Koulibaly. On the other hand, Torino’ pressing was not as complete. Often times, only the wing backs and forwards would come to press the build-up play. Neither the midfield or the defence would push up, which would leave acres of space after the first wave of press.
Not only that, Torino’s pressing was not effective as they were not aggressive with their counterparts and did not block any passing lanes. Thus, Napoli got around Torino’s passing through the quality of passes and numerical superiority
Second Half Analysis
The second half started with almost the same tempo as before. Napoli dominated possession and Torino kept chasing shadows. Walter Mazzarri did improve his team as Torino held onto the ball much better. The problem of attacking for Torino still existed. The main culprit was that the whole team was not attacking. Only a few of Torino’s players would be near the attack. The midfield support was nonexistent. This meant that numerical superiority were still intact which worked against Torino. In terms of positional play, the positions occupied by Torino were not correct. Most of the positions did not provide width to the team. Additionally, the positions taken up by Torino were often blocked by the defenders’ positions.
Napoli, in terms of their defensive structure, kept their shape of the 4-4-2. The wingers and the full backs would tuck in, keeping the passage of the play as narrow as possible. Still, their defensive structure was not perfect as Torino did find Napoli out in some counterattacks. For the main part, the midfield line was not as compact, allowing for spaces to generate between the lines. Ideally, Torino should’ve made diagonal runs into zones 16 and 18. This would’ve created potential 1v1 scenarios.
Instead, Torino players were static, which allowed Napoli to trap them near the flanks and create numerical superiority. This would lead to a loss in possession and counterattacks would be started.
While they would get into those positions, support would still be lacking as they would be outnumbered 3v2. While Torino’s wingbacks and centre midfielder would assume their positions, Napoli would push their wingback guarding the opposition wingback. Additionally, two players would push out to press the Torino centre midfielder
Even then, the quality on the ball from Torino was inferior to that of Napoli. Additionally, overloads nor supporting runs were made. There are also no players that are in a blindside position, which would make Napoli have to defend with more concentration. Thus, this made it much easier for Napoli to close down any balls inwards.
Lorenzo Il Magnifico
In a game that consisted of many opportunities, it was “Il Magnifico” that brought Napoli’s attacks to full fruition. While he was paired up with Milik in a 2 man attack, the reality was that Insigne was given a free role. Insigne frequently was present on the left-hand side, operating on the halfspace:
Insigne (along with Milik) contributed to a lot of Napoli’s shots:
Final Thoughts
The title race in Serie A is increasingly becoming a dream for Napoli. Today was a perfect chance to close the gap and advance forwards. However, their wastefulness in front of the goal has cost them dearly. If they are to contend for the title, they must win these sort of games. Milik’s lack of finishing will surely be giving Carlo Ancelotti some thoughts. Additionally, as this tactical analysis has shown, Mazzarri still has a lot to do if Torino are to fight and compete for the Champions League spot. The sheer lack of direction of Torino going forward will be stressful enough and Andrea Belotti’s waning influence on the game will surely see some sort of changes. Both teams had a lot to show for in this game and both disappointed.
