Napoli were successful in a difficult road game in the first game with Walter Mazzarri on the bench. They eked it out versus Atalanta thanks to a late misplaced pass by Marco Carnesecchi and Elijf Elmas’ finish on a feed by Victor Osimhen.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the coaching change has brought immediate benefits. The Partenopei were much more cohesive and determined than in their debacle versus Empoli. The returning gaffer immediately worked on the players’ self-confidence, stating it was the best team he had ever coached.
While Rudi Garcia tried to move on from Luciano Spalletti, Mazzarri did the opposite. The group hadn’t really accepted the methods of the French tactician. They have been more appreciative of the MO of the Italian one.
The manager insisted on the mental aspects in the few days he could work with the team considering international duties and broke through. Khvicha Kvaratshkelia kissed him on the cheek after the final whistle. Frank Anguissa had one of his performances of the season despite training just a couple of times in the lead-up.
Our Take on Mazzarri
They couldn’t possibly do any worse than before, and in fact, they didn’t. However, a rather fluky win, albeit heavy considering the opponents, isn’t enough to start the ‘caroselli’ and determine in which direction they’ll go. While they were more engaged and compact, their play still left a lot to be desired relative to last season.
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