Napoli look to have found their form again heading into the final third of the season after a 2-0 win over Sassuolo secured a third victory in eight days.
Having had his rotation policy scrutinised by the media in recent weeks, Rafa Benitez was forced into making several changes ahead of the visit to Reggio Emilia with Valon Behrami, Blerim Dzemaili and Lorenzo Insigne deputising for the suspended trio of Jorginho, Gokhan Inler and Jose Callejon. Rafael was also preferred in goal after Pepe Reina suffered a slight injury in training.
However the biggest story heading into Sunday’s match was the meeting of a familiar face in Paolo Cannavaro, only two weeks after he had left his hometown club to join Sassuolo on loan until the end of the season.
The sizeable Neapolitan travelling support showed their affection for the popular former Partenopei captain throughout the comfortable victory, displaying messages including ‘Cannavaro you are always one of us,’ and ‘Paolo will always be my captain.’
But while the departed defender dominated the pre-match build up, it was arguably an arrival on transfer deadline day Faouzi Ghoulam that caught the eye during the game with another impressive performance following his recent arrival at the club.
The naturally left footed full-back provides much needed width on the left wing and is proving to be a great attacking addition on the overlap for either Dries Mertens or Lorenzo Insigne, with both right footed players liking to cut inside when starting on the left side.
This was highlighted for the Vesuviani’s opening goal when Ghoulam showed great pace to get on the end of a quickly taken free-kick at the byline. The 23-year-old was then able to stretch to pull the ball back across the goal for Marek Hamsik. The Partenopei captain’s flick found Dzemaili, who fired in from the edge of the penalty box.
The incredible athleticism of the French-born Algeria international has also been acknowledged by Napoli team doctor Alfonso De Nicola after joining from Saint-Etienne for an undisclosed fee.
“From a physical point of view, after [Edinson] Cavani, who was a monster, Ghoulam has impressed me,” De Nicola told Radio Ultramici.
“The guy is a true athlete, he has the qualities of a middle-distance runner, it’s amazing. The new purchase in my opinion can beat both El Matador and [Walter] Gargano, who were the most gifted from this point of view.”
In addition to his attacking prowess, Ghoulam also showed his defensive qualities against the Neroverdi. He managed to frustrate the highly-rated Domenico Berardi, who was playing on the right side of a Sassuolo front three that was continuously caught offside by the Napoli defence throughout the match.
Having comfortably seen off Sassuolo, Napoli now turn their attention to Thursday’s Europa League Round of 32 clash against Swansea City. The Partenopei’s preparations ahead of the first leg have potentially been dealt a blow with Gonzalo Higuain a doubt to make the trip to South Wales after hurting his back in a challenge with Cannavaro.
The Azzurri will also be looking for a third successive victory in Serie A when they welcome Genoa to Naples on Monday evening. With Fiorentina travelling to in-form Parma earlier on the same day, Napoli will hope to head into the game with an opportunity to extend their six point advantage over the Viola for the final Champions League qualification spot.
