Player Ratings: Sparta Prague 0-0 Napoli

Date: 27th November 2014 at 9:34pm
Written by:

Sparta Prague v Napoli

Sparta Prague and Napoli fought to a 0-0 result tonight with neither claiming the top spot of Europa League Group I.

Though there were a few attempts on goal and some solid defensive plays, the action didn’t start until the second half; booth sides made several impressive shots on goal that made the actual match more exciting than the 0-0 result may imply.

Agree with our comments? Have your say in the comments below.

Sparta Prague

Pavel Kaderabek – 5.5 – Dull

Kaderabek didn’t do much in tonights fixture. He had one off-target attempt, conceded a corner, and had one needless foul.

Jakub Brabec – 6.5 – Anchor

The Czech center-back paired very well with teammate Mario Holek with several blocked shots and prevented attempts on his team’s goal. Though Brabec did earn a booking in the second half for a bad foul on Napoli’s Jorginho.

Mario Holek – 6.5 – Solid

Holek ensured his side’s success with textbook center-back play. His pairing with Brabec proved to be extremely effective for Sparta’s defensive efforts.

Costa Nhamoinesu – 7 – Impressive

Nhamoinesu proved to be an impressive all-around player in tonight’s match. While also performing his duties as a fullback and stopping several chances and making a few key tackles, Nhamoinesu had a strong offensive performance with a few seemingly threatening shots on goal.

Ladislav Krejci – 5 – Ineffective

Expected to at least threaten Napoli’s defense, Krejci had almost no contributions to Sparta tonight. Though he didn’t particularly detract from his side, he had only one off-target shot on goal.

Marek Matejovsky – 6.5 – Conflicted

Along with Marecek, Marejovsky had perhaps the strongest presence for Sparta in the midfield. The Czech had a handful of serious shots on goal and hugely aided his team in their efforts with a very high number of touches. Though Marejovsky earned a booking at the 46th minute for a bad foul on Callejon.

Lukas Marecek – 7 – Lively

Perhaps Sparta’s best player tonight. Marecek had several dangerous but fruitless on-target attempts on goal throughout the game. He boasted an impressive 85% pass accuracy with 96 touches.

Borek Dockal – 6.5 – Threatening

Dockal was responsible for a large portion of Sparta’s offensive presence and had a disproportionate number of touches and attempts on goal compared to the rest of his team.

Josef Husbauer – 6.5 – Go-Getter

Sparta nearly found themselves in the lead very early in the game with a promising long-shot at the 17th minute that was deflected by the goal pipe. Subbed off in place of Tomas Prikryl at the 72nd minute.

David Lafata – 5 – Poor

Lafata did very little to aid in Sparta’s offensive power, with only two off-target shots on goal and a number of poor passes and losses of possession.

Marek Stech – 6 – Untroubled

Stech was rarely brought into the action in tonight’s game. He didn’t have any error to detract from his team but also needed to make only one save throughout the match. Two saves.

Substitutes

Tomas Prikryl – 6 – N/A

Prikryl came on the pitch at the 72nd minute in place of Josef Husbauer. Didn’t do enough to seriously affect the game.

Kamil Vacek – N/A

Vacek replaced Marek Matejovsky at the 90th minute and played only during stoppage time.

Napoli

Giandomenico Mesto – 6 – Boring

Though generally a solid fullback presence tonight, Mesto contributed very little by way of statistics.

Raul Albiol – 7 – Teammate

Albiol very effectively locked down the Partenopei’s defense in the center back position along with Kalidou Koulibaly. He also very nearly put his side ahead towards the end of the first half but didn’t make good contact with a heading strike on an open goal.

Kalidou Koulibaly – 6.5 – Safe

Koulibaly made a handful of key tackles to prevent Sparta from finding the back of his side’s net. The Frenchman also had a very dangerous attempt at the 79th minute that nearly put his side ahead at the end of the game. Albiol and Koulibaly again proved to be a very strong defensive paring.

Miguel Britos – 5.5 – Detracting

Britos earned a booking at the very beginning of the first half for a rough foul on Sparta’s Borek Dockal. Though he did not contribute defensively in a huge way, he boasted a solid passing percentage.

Walter Gargano – 6.5 – Sturdy

Gargano impressed slightly more than his defensive partner David Lopez with a better pass accuracy rating and several key tackles. He also had a mildly impressive shot on goal that was easily saved.

Jose Callejon – 6 – Mild

Though Callejon has been one of Napoli’s most formidable players this season, he did not contribute much to his squad’s efforts. Callejon had at least one solid attempt that was blocked by Sparta’s defense as well as a fruitless assist.

Jorginho – 5.5 – Tired

Playing in the central attacking midfielder position, Jorginho was expected to be a serious threat to Sparta’s defense but failed to even make his presence known. Jorginho had zero shots on goal and had a very low pass accuracy rating.

David Lopez – 6 – Uninspired

Lopez’s only game-affecting contributions were a few strategic fouls and tackles, something expected out of a player in a defensive midfielder role.

Marek Hamsik – 6 – Disappointing

Consistently one of Napoli’s strongest offensive players, Hamsik was expected to have at least several attempts on goal. The Slovak had a couple off-target shots on goal as well as a fruitless assist. At the 85th minute Hamsik squandered a very good opportunity with a shot on goal that was far off target.

Gonzalo Higuain – 5.5 – Mediocre

Though Higuain has years of experience in European competition, he failed to make a splash in today’s appearance. The Argentine had significantly fewer touches than the rest of his teammates.

Rafael Cabral – 6 – Reliable

Cabral did not need to deal with much throughout the game but could be relied on to make easy saves from the few attempts that Sparta had. Four saves.

Substitutes

Duvan Zapata – 6 – Redeeming

Zapata came on the pitch in place of Gonzalo Higuain at the 68th minute. He had one serious attempt on goal during his time on the pitch, the same number of shots that Higuain had in his 68 minutes.

Faouzi Ghoulam – 6 – N/A

Ghoulam came on the pitch at the 77th minute in place of Jorginho. He didn’t do enough to seriously affect the outcome of the match.

 

Comments are closed.