Piotr Zielinski has the opportunity to become a decisive player under new Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti and he highlighted that by delivering a match-winning performance against AC Milan on Saturday evening.
The Partenopei were losing 2-0 in the second half against the Rossoneri in their round 2 Serie A encounter, but the 24-year-old attacking midfielder was inspirational, scoring twice to bring his team back onto level terms before substitute Dries Mertens scored the winner in the 3-2 victory.
This is his third season with the Neapolitan club and the new coach has already started him in the opening two league fixtures whereas his position was not assured under Ancelotti’s predecessor Maurizio Sarri.
Zielinski had a two-year loan spell at Empoli and he played under Sarri during his time in Tuscany, which prompted Napoli into acquiring him in the summer of 2016 from Udinese for €14 million.
The Polish international was utilised in a couple of different roles, either taking Marek Hamsik’s place in midfield or replacing Lorenzo Insigne on the left-wing when they were tiring. If one of the players was unavailable for a match, he would start in their place and he displayed the ability to play in both roles under his former Empoli mentor.
Despite not being a guaranteed starter under Sarri, he still played 72 out of a possible 76 Serie A matches in the last two seasons for the Partenopei, scoring nine goals and providing 10 assists in that time. His goals weren’t simplistic either, as they were usually long-range shots or spectacular volleys.
After Jorginho was signed by Chelsea, Ancelotti has needed to transform the Napoli midfield. Allan remains in his box-to-box role in midfield but Hamsik now operates as a deep-lying playmaker and Zielinski plays on the left side of the midfield trio.
Although he was not particularly inspiring against Lazio in the opening round, he proved his worth against AC Milan with his goals. The Neapolitans were playing some neat possession football but they were lacking the urgency and intensity that they had under Sarri.
Zielinski could have scored in the first half but his angled drive was off target so he needed to wait until eight minutes into the second to put his name on the scoresheet.
After Davide Calabria had double Milan’s lead, the Polish midfielder applied pressure on Lucas Biglia and the Diavolo playmaker lost the ball. Hamsik passed to Jose Callejon on the right-wing and the Spaniard passed low to Zielinski, whose left-foot daisycutter beat Gianluigi Donnarumma in the Rossoneri goal.
The Napoli midfielder nearly made it 2-2 with a right-foot shot but it just went wide. He did level the scores with an excellent right-foot volley which was aided with a deflection from Giacomo Bonaventura.
Ancelotti surprisingly took him off after 72 minutes but Zielinski had already changed the momentum of the game. His replacement Amadou Diawara came on to tighten things in midfield while Mertens had already replaced Hamsik by then so the team still had enough attacking impetus for the remaining minutes of the game.
In addition to his attacking play, the Pole retrieved the ball 11 times against the Rossoneri, more than any other Ciucciarelli player throughout the match. If he can be important for Napoli in both phases of the game, surely Ancelotti will find it hard to leave him on the bench.
Despite not being a regular starter in previous seasons, Zielinski was a player capable of turning a game around for the Neapolitans when necessary, but his performance against Milan showed that they can be more than impact player.
With the faith Ancelotti has placed in him so far, the 24-year-old midfielder might finally be able to establish himself as one of Napoli’s most important players.
