Bologna 2 Napoli 0
Anyone could win Serie A this year. Before the season started I think most people had Napoli as title favourites alongside maybe Inter but all of the top teams in Italy have struggled to a certain extent and that’s why it’s so tight with 3 points separating 1st and 5th. Serie A this year could really be won by 4 or 5 teams at the minute and that’s what makes the league so exciting to watch.
Second season Conte might strike again. It’s been known that where ever Antonio Conte goes the second season is when it falls apart for most of the teams he manages. You look at Chelsea as an example where he won the league in his first season similar to Napoli last year then finished 5th the following year getting sacked despite winning the FA Cup. Conte has made comments regarding Napoli’s business over the summer saying, “ “Last year we won an extraordinary and incredible championship where everyone pushed their limits with unity across the board. This year, however, between playing so many games and bringing in so many players… in my opinion, nine new players were too many. We weren’t balanced. I’ve always said this year would be difficult, there are some aspects that take time to absorb”. Will history repeat itself yet again for Conte this season?
Bologna are coming on leaps and bounds under Italiano. Last season was always going to be difficult for Bologna after losing their manager Thiago Motta in addition to losing many players like Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori but they managed to win the Coppa Italia against Milan which got them Europa League football this year. The score-line from this game really actually flatters Napoli as Bologna could have scored more if it weren’t for Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the Napoli goal.
Napoli’s struggle for goals continues. As I said above the scoreline flatters Napoli as they only created 0.20 XG in the entire game, Rasmus Hojlund has come under fire following his performance losing 13 duels in the game but Napoli as a whole where absolutely awful so putting the blame on Hojlund for me anyway is harsh when there are senior players who could be doing more. It’s nearly 300 minutes without a goal for Napoli and with Lukaku not being back any time soon they have to find goals fast if they want to retain the title.
Could Bologna get Champions League football this year? With the way the Serie A is shaping up this year the race for European football is probably going to go down to the final day but if Bologna can keep players fit and continue to progress in the Europa League and Serie A there is no reason not to aim for Champions League football. If they can dominate Napoli they can challenge any team in Italy.