Udinese vs Napoli 0-4 – Azzurri Stun Dacia Arena to Go Top of the Table

After witnessing their merciless demolition of Udinese in the Serie A monday night matchup, one may wonder if the top candidates for the Scudetto are indeed Napoli. The Partenopei raided the Dacia Arena and took home a sounding 0-4 win that puts them alone at the top of the table as they extend their perfect start of the season to four games.

What’s more, the Napoli show came against an Udinese side that had not lost in three matches and after a challenging Europa League test against Leicester last Thursday. But Luciano Spalletti’s side didn’t seem to be affected at all by the European outing. Napoli played aggressive and run twice as the opposition, outclassing them when it comes to ball possession (61% vs 39%) and getting the game done and dusted in 52 minutes.

Udinese did what they could and had a vibrant start but basically disappeared from the pitch after being hit by a powerful one-two from the Partenopei. Coach Luca Gotti deployed them in their usual 3-5-2 setup, with Gerard Deulofeu and Ignacio Pussetto on the front line. Spalletti opted for a 4-3-3 fashion featuring a brutal trident made up by Matteo Politano, Victor Osimhen and Lorenzo Insigne. 

? StartingXI: Ospina, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Mario Rui, Anguissa, Fabian, Elmas, Politano, Osimhen, Insigne.#UdineseNapoli

? #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/EFlYYSCn9I

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) September 20, 2021

Napoli had the first chance with a tiro a giro from Insigne that called Marco Silvestri to action. Udinese’s answer was a Deloufeu pressing on David Ospina – who was the starting goalkeeper despite Alex Meret’s last minute recovery – that forced the Colombian shot-stopper into a mistake. However, Ospina redeemed himself blocking the subsequent cross from the Spaniard. 

On 24 minutes, the Partenopei drew first blood. Mario Rui picked Insigne on the left side and the Napoli captain lobbed the ball past Silvestri with a soft touch. Insigne did the hard work but it was Osimhen to make it to the scorecard as he corrected the ball’s trajectory into the goal to make it 0-1.

One might have expected to see Udinese react but it was Napoli to come closer to the second with a terrific Fabian Ruiz shot that hit the goal post. Still, it was just a matter of minutes before the Azzurri would find the back of the net again. From a set piece, Napoli worked out a scheme that ended with Amir Rrahmani’s decisive touch right on the goal line.

Napoli’s third goal came seven minutes after the restart. Kalidou Koulibaly scored for the second game in a row, beating Silvestri with a fine shot that you wouldn’t expect to see from a defender. There were still more than 30 minutes left but the game had lost any point.

There was still time to see the Partenopei score again, however, as Hirving Lozano came in for Politano and made the best out of his playing time with a clinical conclusion on 84 minutes. It was an absolute triumph.

Napoli will travel to Genoa on Thursday for the mid-week round as they face a tricky opponent in Sampdoria. They will need to show that tonight’s exploit didn’t happen by chance. Udinese, on the other hand, will have to forget this setback fast as they prepare to face Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

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? #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/uSlTiNu69x

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) September 20, 2021

 

MATCH SCORECARD

September 20, 2021 – Serie A 2021-22 Round 4
UDINESE – NAPOLI 0-4

SCORERS: 24′ Osimhen, 35′ Rrahmani, 52′ Koulibaly (N), 84′ Lozano

REFEREE: Mr. Manganiello from Pinerolo
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Samir, Molina (U), Mario Rui (N); Added Time: 1st Half 1′, 2nd Half 3′