This is the second time coach Walter Mazzarri has led Napoli. Before that, he was the coach of the Diego Armando Maradona team from 2009 to 2013 and helped the team play impressively. Many Napoli fans believe that the 62-year-old coach is the perfect choice to replace coach Rudi Garcia, who was fired by Napoli after only the first 12 rounds of Serie A in the 2023-2024 season.
Coach Walter Mazzarri was chosen to replace coach Rudi Garcia and made many surprising decisions at Napoli.
Coach Walter Mazzarri made several changes to the squad that played against Atalanta. The most surprising was leaving striker Victor Osimhen - the player who has scored 6 goals for Napoli since the beginning of the tournament - on the bench. Instead, the player who has been criticized a lot in recent times, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, was trusted to play in the top position.
Responding to the trust of the new Napoli captain, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had an impressive performance against Atalanta. The Georgian player continuously moved wide and created many impressive plays. Before the end of the first half, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia helped Napoli take the lead with an accurate finish.
“I told Khvicha Kvaratskhelia that if he continues to move wide, they will double the number of men on him. We only had a few minutes to discuss this so hopefully we will have more time to discuss some other concepts. But it was great to see him score,” coach Walter Mazzarri said when asked about Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s goal.
In the second half, although Ademola Lookman equalized 1-1 for Atalanta in the 55th minute, Napoli still played with great confidence. Instead of being hasty and losing points regrettably like in previous matches, the Serie A champions confidently held the ball and deployed impressive attacking tactics. The result also came to Napoli in the 79th minute when Elif Elmas scored the winning goal after coming off the bench a few minutes earlier.
The 2-1 victory also helped Napoli have 24 points after 14 rounds, continuing to stand in 4th place. They have widened the gap with the 5th ranked team, Atalanta, to 5 points and are 7 points behind the leading position of Inter Milan.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (in white) shines in Napoli's victory over Atalanta
In another notable match, AC Milan won 1-0 when hosting Fiorentina to maintain their third place with 26 points. Hernandez became the hero for the Rossoneri in this match when he accurately converted a penalty in the first half's injury time.
The most notable situation in the second half was when coach Stefano Pioli unexpectedly brought on young striker Francesco Camarda in the last 10 minutes. Francesco Camarda also became the youngest player ever to play in Serie A at just 15 years and 260 days.
Francesco Camarda becomes youngest player to play in Serie A
Coach Stefano Pioli shared about the surprising decision with Italian channel Sky Sport: "Camarda is wise for his age, he is calm, but we are guiding him with the balance and smile necessary for his age. Rafael Leao and Noah Okafor are injured, while Olivier Giroud is suspended so I have to do that."
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