Napoli are not a team in collapse, but they are far from being a dominant side. Knocked out of the Champions League in almost humiliating fashion, comfortable in Serie A yet never truly threatening the top, Napoli came into this match pressured more by context than by the table. On the other side stood a Fiorentina side lost between coaches, ideas and results, trying to survive rather than compete.
The opening minutes made that clear very quickly. Fiorentina arrived with a simple plan: survive, drop deep and hope Fagioli could invent something. But Napoli gave him no room. Elmas stuck to the Italian midfielder like a shadow, took away his time, took away his decision-making, and with Fagioli neutralised Fiorentina were completely cut off from any interior play.
The first blow arrived in the 11th minute. Højlund received with his back to goal, produced a top-level pivot, pinned Pongracic, and Vergara attacked the space with brutal acceleration before finishing like a snooker shot, precise and unstoppable for De Gea. The stadium pushed, accelerated, created anxiety in the opponent. After the goal, Napoli completely controlled the game. Fiorentina fell apart, unable to step up, unable to press, unable even to suffer in an organised way. Højlund turned Pongracic’s night into a nightmare, Spinazzola and Di Lorenzo drove forward down the flanks, and Napoli kept piling up dangerous situations.
In the 17th minute, McTominay attempted an improbable bicycle kick. In the 23rd, chaos in the six-yard box somehow didn’t end in a goal. In the 25th, the ball hit the post, a rebound followed, a header, and Meret produced a brilliant save.
Di Lorenzo’s injury in the 29th minute was yet another chapter in Napoli’s season: short, limited, full of physical problems. The bench, with only seven players, said everything. Even so, the dominance continued. Elmas produced a moment of pure technique in the 39th minute, dribbling past three in the tightest of spaces, but the shot was blocked.
Fiorentina, in open play, simply did not exist. Everything they created came from set pieces. The numbers at half-time were brutal and honest: 0.00 xG from open play. It is impossible to compete like that.
In the 49th minute, Gutiérrez received on the right, Gosens defended the duel poorly, allowed the winger to cut inside, and the finish was perfect. Curl, placement, aesthetics. At that moment, the game felt settled. Fiorentina were lost, without ideas, without confidence and without attacking presence.
In the 57th minute, Fiorentina pulled one back. A simple move, Dodô found Piccoli, Meret saved the first effort, but Solomon reacted quickest to tap in the rebound. 2-1. A goal born more from Napoli’s defensive passivity than from any great Fiorentina construction.
Fiorentina grew in belief, not because they were playing well, but because they sensed Napoli shaking. Vanoli made good changes around the 70th minute, brought on Kean, added aggression to the attack and finally started to cause problems. Kean came on hot: a shot against the post, albeit offside, another dangerous effort shortly after, Meret forced into action. Napoli suffered, dropped deeper and accepted Fiorentina’s game.
In the final minutes, Fiorentina had one last clear chance. Dodô crossed, Piccoli went for the volley… and missed. That was the equaliser, but it didn’t go in.
Post-match
Napoli win and that is the most important thing. They maintain a historic unbeaten run at the Diego Armando Maradona, show an ability to suffer, and do not drop points after taking the lead. The game exposed some weaknesses: lack of efficiency and a very short squad, extremely short, also due to injuries.
Højlund had a good game, Vergara was decisive, and McTominay was once again solid, intense and intelligent. Elmas was tactically flawless.
Fiorentina leave defeated, but with signs of life in the second half. Very little in open play in the first, a better reaction after the break with good substitutions, but the lack of quality in decision-making remains.
In the end, it was a match that perfectly sums up the season of both teams: a Napoli side that is competent but far from brilliant, and a Fiorentina side that works hard but is structurally limited.