Napoli played host to Atalanta on Saturday evening as they suffered a 3-2 defeat in a thrilling match from start to finish. La Dea initially took the lead but found themselves behind shortly after the restart at half time. However, Napoli were unable to hold onto their lead as they succumbed to goals by Merih Demiral and Remo Freuler.
In an end-to-end game, it was Gian Piero Gasperini’s side who were able to take home all three points as Napoli now fall into third place, two points behind leaders Milan and one behind Inter, who both picked up victories earlier in the day.
Napoli’s injury concerns were evident but they battled well here and were perhaps a little unfortunate not to take anything away from the match. Nonetheless, it’s Atalanta who will be happy as they close the gap on the Partenopei to just two points. Things are getting tight at the top in Serie A. So, let’s get into our player ratings from an excellent match at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli
David Ospina – 6
Busy first half with a couple of decent saves to deny Atalanta. Could not do too much about the goals due to excellent finishing.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 6
Fairly solid at the back but not the best of performances here.
Amir Rrahmani – 5
Could have done better to deal with Zapata in the build up to the first goal for Atalanta. Struggled to deal with the threat of Zapata throughout and was booked for a late challenge on the Colombian in the second half.
Juan Jesus – 6
Made a couple of decent challenges and blocks throughout the evening.
Kevin Malcuit – 7.5
Caught out a little defensively as Atalanta looked good down his side of the pitch early on but recovered and looked good going forward. Was involved in the build-up to the equaliser and also assisted the Mertens goal. Put in a very solid performance in his first start of the season.
Piotr Zielinski – 8
Played a couple of decent progressive passes and was influential in the Napoli fight back later on in the first half. Created a couple of chances and also got on the score sheet.
Stanislav Lobotka – 6.5
Sat deep as he looked to offer some defensive structure in front of the back line. Struggled a little in the midfield but did play a couple of decent balls forward.
Mario Rui – 6.5
Good cross in from the left for a great opportunity for Hirving Lozano in the first half. Attacked well down the left for Napoli but did get caught out a little defensively.
Eljif Elmas – 6
Not involved too often here in what was a fairly average performance.
Hirving Lozano – 6.5
Looking dangerous in behind and had a glorious chance to level the scores in the first half but could not get on the end of the cross by Mario Rui. Had a good chance after making a good run in behind but Musso made a comfortable save, also in the first half. Did not do too much in the second before being subbed off.
Dries Mertens – 7
Put Napoli 2-1 up just after half time with an excellent finish past Musso, capitalising on a mistake at the back by Merih Demiral. Battled hard throughout and had a pretty solid game here.
Substitutions
Diego Demme – 6
Fairly solid in the midfield when he came on but made little impact
Adam Ounas – N/A
Andrea Petagna – N/A
Matteo Politano – N/A
Duvan Zapata created more chances than any other player in the first half against Napoli (4), while no player had more touches in the opposition box (4).
He also assisted Atalanta’s only goal of the half. ?️ pic.twitter.com/hCrXNcT6q0
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 4, 2021
Atalanta
Juan Musso – 5
Nearly caught out early on by Mertens on the press and looked a little shaky and sloppy on the ball. Not a confident showing by Musso here.
Rafael Toloi – 8
Good defending late on to deny Elmas who was making a good run in behind the defense and made a few good challenges and blocks throughout. Played an excellent ball into Demiral to make it 2-2 and was also involved in the winner.
Merih Demiral – 7.5
Brought the scores level with a superb finish to make it 2-2 in the second half. However, was at fault for the Mertens goal with some poor defending.
Jose Luis Palomino – 7
Played a fantastic ball from deep in the build-up to the opening goal. Also made a good block to deny Zielinski inside the area but he could do nothing about the rebound.
Davide Zappacosta – 6
Looked to advance down the right flank in his position at right wing-back often and had a decent effort saved by Ospina in the first half. Was subbed off at half time for Hans Hateboer.
Marten De Roon – 6.5
Solid midfield display by de Roon but failed to make a big impact on the match.
Remo Freuler – 7.5
Scored the winning goal for Atalanta with an excellent finish from the edge of the area. Was accurate with his passing throughout and worked hard in the midfield battle.
Joakim Maehle – 7
Solid performance at left-wing back by Maehle, making a couple of good interceptions and challenges. Also provided a good cross for Zapata’s header that hit the post in the second half.
Ruslan Malinovskyi – 7.5
Smashed the ball home to give Atalanta the lead with a wonderful finish. Looked influential and sharp on the ball in the first half but his impact dwindled as the match went on.
Duvan Zapata – 8
Great center-forward play in the build up to the goal, providing the assist. Held the ball up superbly and created opportunities throughout. Hit the post at the beginning of the second half as he nearly made the scores 2-2.
Matteo Pessina – 6
Had a couple of decent opportunities in the first half and was involved at times. Fairly average performance here after getting subbed off for Josip Ilicic.
Substitutions
Hans Hateboer – 6
Couple of decent challenges and was fairly solid here.
Josip Ilicic – 7
Looked creative when he came on and assisted their third goal with a good cut back for Freuler.