Napoli overcame Udinese 1-0 at the Stadio San Paolo in Serie A on Sunday evening with Gonzalo Higuain the hero once again, Louis Gibberd-Thomas asks are Maurizio Sarri’s team over-reliant on the Argentine striker?
Another game, another goal for Gonzalo Higuain. The 27-year-old Argentinian has taken his goal tally to nine in the Serie A season, three ahead of his partner in crime, Lorenzo Insigne. Four of these goals have been particularly important as they were match winners, notably in clashes with both Juventus and Fiorentina.
This time last season Higuain had scored seven, which shows just how influential he has been this campaign, but have the Partenopei become over-reliant on the former Real Madrid poacher for goals?
This season it’s certainly a different story. All teams require their forwards to score, Napoli play with just the single recognised striker in their formation so it rests a lot on Higuain. Eder has the same amount of goals for Sampdoria this season, as does Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Paris Saint-Germain and Luis Suarez for FC Barcelona. Higuain hasn’t had it all to do either, as Lorenzo Insigne and Allan have the same number of goals as the Argentinian between them.
There has been some notable examples of striker reliance in recent years. In the 2011-12 season, Arsenal were heavily dependent on Robin van Persie for goals, scoring 30 of their 72 league goals. In the same season, the aforementioned Ibrahimovic struck on 28 occasions in Serie A for AC Milan, making up almost half of the league goals scored by the Rossoneri.
Scoring hasn’t been much of a problem for Napoli this year, but one of the great areas of improvement, without a shadow of a doubt, has been their defending. Maurizio Sarri has worked wonders with the Napoli back-line, perhaps benefiting from individuals such as Raul Albiol and Kalidou Koulibaly, but nonetheless bringing a defensive solidity to the team.
The Senegalese central defender in particular has been a revelation. Affectionately known as ‘K2’ by supporters, the former Genk defender has developed into a formidable figure for the Azzurri.
Elseid Hysaj has, surprisingly, been a far more valuable addition to the side then Mirko Valdifiori; both of whom joined Sarri from Empoli. On the other flank Faouzi Ghoulam has found some consistency to his football, with two assists to his name already. Although the attacking side of his game has rarely been questioned at the Stadio San Paolo, he has shown greater attention to his defensive duties.
The international break will give Sarri a break and chance to evaluate his side’s position, but no such break awaits his star performers. Manolo Gabbiadini has got the call from Antonio Conte to represent his country, with the first match taking place in Brussels; with his club side making the same trip to face Club Brugge not long after.
Gabbiadini is likely to come face-to-face with club teammates Dries Mertens and Vlad Chiriches, who were called up for Belgium and Romania respectively. Koulibaly, Higuain, Ghoulam, Marek Hamsik and Omar El Kaddouri have also all been called up for international duty.
