Ruiz stunner puts Napoli on course for heavy victory over dogged Udinese

Date: 20th October 2018 at 10:31pm
Written by:

Fabian Ruiz stepped off the bench to bend in a wonderful goal and set Napoli on their way to a 3-0 win over Udinese at the Dacia Arena on Saturday.

Although early Napoli dominance was tempered by a much-improved second half display from the hosts, the result was put beyond doubt by a late Dries Mertens penalty. Ruiz’s impact from the bench was outdone by Marko Rog however, as he slotted home with his first touch to seal the points.

It was far from a vintage Partenopei display but after soaking up plenty of pressure after the break, they took control late on to consolidate second place in Serie A.

Napoli’s evening started on a sour note, as with only 90 seconds on the clock Simone Verdi went down clutching his thigh after running onto a loose ball, and was forced off for Ruiz.

Despite the early setback, the Partenopei dominated possession and enjoyed territorial advances. Simone Scuffet’s poor clearance was pounced upon by Mertens to release Jose Callejon, but his low shot was straight at the goalkeeper.

It was a warning sign that Udinese did not heed however, as Ruiz made his mark on the game on 20 minutes. Intercepting a poor pass for Seko Fofana on the edge of the box, the Spaniard prodded the ball away from Valon Behrami before bending a wicked effort beyond Scuffet and into the far corner.

Aside from a few rare openings, it was all Napoli, with Piotr Zielinski coming closest. The Pole knocked the ball to Allan and sprinted into the box to collect the lofted return pass, but his low volley nestled into the side-netting.

The Zebrette began the second half on the front foot however, and enjoyed a period of dominance from kick off.

Indeed, the hosts came closest as Rodrigo De Paul’s freekick was headed out wide and Bram Nuytinek showed great strength to hold off Kevin Malcuit and whip a teasing cross back into the box. Kevin Lasagna was unable to get a clean connection though, and Karnezis smothered before the striker could turn and tap in.

Yet, Udinese almost threw away their hard work in incredibly sloppy fashion soon after. Zielinski’s cross looked to have evaded everyone until Samir inexplicably side-footed against his own post, and breathed a sigh of relief as it bounced wide.

The result was finally secured with 10 minutes remaining as Napoli were awarded a contentious penalty. Callejon’s strike from a Malcuit cross from the byline appeared to strike the hand of Nicholas Opoku. After a lengthy VAR delay, Mertens stepped up and sent Scuffet the wrong way.

Moments later, Rog ensured a more flattering scoreline as he netted with his first touch. A mazy Mertens dribble into the box saw the ball fall into his path, and the Croatian made no mistake in rolling into the bottom corner.

New strike partnership may force Ancelotti rethink

Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti is yet to put out the same starting line-up in consecutive matches this season, and experimented with a strike partnership of Arkadiusz Milik and Dries Mertens in Friuli on Saturday.

The duo failed to sparkle together however, with Milik’s presence in the centre limiting his Belgian teammate’s ability to influence proceedings. There was a notable lack of fluidity and Mertens became more effective once Milik had been substituted.

Milik, meanwhile, may consider himself fortunate to have remained on the pitch beyond 40 minutes after a poor lunge on Rodrigo De Paul. Initially brandishing a yellow card, referee Maurizio Mariani consulted VAR at length before opting against a red card.

Given Ancelotti’s penchant for chopping and changing, it may be unlikely that the pair will start in the same roles against Roma next week. The tactician has plenty of food for thought ahead of the visit of his former club.

 

Comments are closed.