Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly has admitted he is flattered by the constant speculation linking him with summer move to major European clubs. The likes of Manchester United, Barcelona have all indicated interest in the player. Koulibaly has stated that he wants to continue improving his game with the Partenopei.
Carlo Ancelotti has been sacked by Napoli and other than his mildly successful stint at Chelsea, the Italian seems to be negating he previous works the ore he ages.
Napoli could not gain ground on Serie A as they were held back by a 1-1 draw in a struggling SPAL. Juventus and Inter Milan are known to be the pacesetters for Serie A in which Napoli was supposed include themselves after the supposed-to-win match. Though Arkadiusz Milik put them in front very early in the first half of the match, soon the side for Carlo Ancelotti fastened themselves by getting a strike from Jasmin Kurtic. Fabian Ruiz, who played as a substitute hit the post for the visitors because they were trying to push for the winner in the second half. This is the third time when the home side avoided getting defeated in this season.
The boss of Liverpool Jurgen Klopp will be predicted to avoid déjà vu feeling at the time takes the side to play against Napoli in their group stage opener match of the Champions League. In May, Reds move to the European campaign as holders after prevailing over Tottenham in the final but he will be cautious of the threat that coming from the Carlo Ancelotti squad.
Liverpool had a tight clash with Partenopei having the score of 1-0 just 12 months ago; this gave Liverpool a tough task to deal for qualifying before the reverse of 1-0 at Anfield. After winning all five opening matches of Premier League they have played, the team of Klopp come into the match in overwhelming form and they will be keen on to set everything right at the SanPaolo for keeping their run moving on.
Napoli are looking at signing Morocco ace Hakim Ziyech from Ajax in the summer according to reports from Italy. Italian tabloid CalcioMercato claims that the Blues have identified the playmaker as a key addition for the summer.
Ziyech has emerged as a key player for Ajax since his £11 million move from FC Twente in 2016. Blessed with a creative ability and an eye for goal Ziyech’s performances have turned heads across Europe this season.
Napoli seems to have postponed the march of Juventus to the title of Serie A and send have sent down Chievo with a 3-1 win on Sunday at Stadio Bentegodi. The team of Carlo Ancelotti required a victory to make sure that Turin club, the one who was defeated by 2-1 on Saturday at SPAL doesn’t wrap up their 8th consecutive championship in the league with just 6 record games in hand.
Kaidou Koulibaly scored two goals on either side of Arkadiusz Milik strike. This confirmed the demotion of Chievo irrespective of the late consolation of Bostjan Cesar following a miserable season in which the club of Verona had recorded only one win in thirty-two games.
On the ground of Wanda Metropolitano, fans rushed to the stadium expecting a cutthroat match between Juventus and Atletico Madrid. What they saw instead is the clear victory of Atletico Madrid by 2-0. Even the five times Champions League winner Christiano Ronaldo couldn't save the fate of Juventus which further came as a shock to everyone
The match was expected to be a nail-biting one because both Juventus and Atletico Madrid are considered tough teams. Also, their style of playing is also very similar. Still, speculations favored Juventus a little more with Ronaldo on their side. Atletico Madrid, however, proved that one player couldn't decide the fate of the entire team.
On Saturday, Napoli had a great win by 3-2. Napoli emerged victorious after a debatable 1-0 loss to Inter Milan. Napoli was playing without Koulibaly, which gave a great chance to Ancelotti. Because of their tactical skills, Napoli got a lead as the ball came to Milik at the apex of a 6-yard box which was attempted by Mertens. Napoli's hope for an easy win got vanished as Federico Santander headed which result into an equalizer at the 37th minute from an easy free kick. And the 2nd half started with the Napoli controlling the ball. Milik scored his second goal by the header in the 51st minute by a curling cross delivery by Malcuit. But in the 80th minute of the game, the hosts again made the score equal. As the situation became difficult for both the teams, the long-range strike by Mertensin the 88th minute confirmed a win for Napoli. The goal of the Mertens went under the outstretched arms of Bologna goalkeeper.
An absence of Koulibaly can be clearly seen in the match as Bologna scored 2 goals against Napoli. Throughout the season Koulibaly has helped Napoli from losing many games. As Zielinski moved back into the center next to Allan absence of Hamsik can be clearly seen. Even though Zielinski is a very talented and creative player but he cannot handle defense as Hamsik, which can be seen in between the game, where a gap between defense and the midfield was seemed to be a big problem.
Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti wants his team to improve. He said that their form has not been good in recent weeks and this has caused them to lose some points on Juventus. Indeed Napoli is currently eight points behind Juventus in Serie A and Carlo Ancelotti said that this is not good enough.
The former Chelsea manager said that the objective of the team was to challenge for the title and that they are far from being to do this at the moment. He said that the team needs to improve on the pitch and that the players need to work harder when they do not have the ball. He said that they have been guilty sometimes of waiting for the ball to arrive at their feet and not putting pressure on the opposition.
Napoli have found themselves in an all too familiar position in pursuit of Juventus at the top of Serie A in the early stages of the campaign. Under Maurizio Sarri, the club almost ended the Bianconeri’s stranglehold on Italian football, only to lose out on the crown by four points. Their margin for error was non-existent and defeats at the hands of Roma and Fiorentina were to loom large. Sarri left Gil Azzurri at the end of the campaign to join Chelsea, while a former Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti made the decision to move to the Stadio San Paolo.
Early defeats to Sampdoria and to Juve have knocked them off the pace of Massimiliano Allegri’s side. Inter have joined the pursuit of Juventus at the top of the table, and although both teams have played well, the addition of Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared to make the Bianconeri almost unstoppable. The Portuguese has already played an important role for his team, saving them against Empoli on the road. It seems no matter what Ancelotti and his team do, they will always be playing catch up to Ronaldo and company.