CorSport – Napoli pay the price for injury crisis against Benfica | OneFootball

CorSport – Napoli Pays the Price for the Emergency Against Benfica

Two photographs tell the whole story. The protagonist is used to being on the front page, but for different reasons. Napoli’s evening is perfectly described by two images of McTominay. On Benfica’s first goal, he jumps timidly in the box, without his usual aggression and physical dominance: the ball bounces and ends up at Rios’ feet. On the second goal, the same Colombian midfielder runs toward the Napoli area with Scott chasing him from meters behind. Once again, it ends badly, with an assist for Barreiro’s magic.

In Lisbon, the Scotsman was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Napoli. The compact, energetic, aggressive team that had racked up five consecutive wins never made it to Portugal. Batteries too drained, little desire to fight, little hunger. A team completely emptied compared to the one that dominated Juve on Sunday night. And in front of them, a Benfica that perhaps played the best match of the Mourinho era. With a defense that made no mistakes, great ball-handling skills, and countless duels won. The two extra days of rest compared to their last league match made all the difference. However, the real difference was the emergency Conte is forced to deal with: seven absentees are too many to manage matches every three days. Thinking you can always play at the same level and with the same intensity is a fantasy. The packed schedule takes its toll, physically and mentally. Conte also tried to shuffle the deck several times during the match, but last night’s problems were not tactical. He even finished with an unusual 4-4-2, with the Hojlund-Lucca tandem and Politano and Neres on the wings, but he never found gaps in the attentive defense of the Special One, always aggressive and timely in closing down.

The defeat in Lisbon is the third away loss in the Champions League but leaves everything open in the standings. Napoli remains in the playoff zone, but knows that from now on, there can be no more mistakes. The Portuguese disappointment must now be put aside as soon as possible; at least three more matches remain until the end of the year. Sunday in the league at Udine, Thursday the 18th the Super Cup semifinal against Milan in Riyadh, and on the 28th back in Serie A at Cremonese. In between, there could be a possible final against Inter or Bologna on Monday the 22nd. A tour de force that will severely test the resilience of the Azzurri, weakened by injuries. The most delicate situation is in midfield, where basically only Elmas and McTominay are left. Anguissa, De Bruyne, and Gilmour will return from the end of January onwards, while Lobotka is expected back in Arabia. A quick intervention at the start of 2026 would be the best gift for Conte. Getting a midfielder right away, perhaps to be registered on January 2, could give him a few more options for the clash with Lazio (on the 4th at the Olimpico). In January, Napoli will have no breaks: 8 matches in 24 days. After the match with Sarri, Conte will have to face Verona, Inter, Parma, Sassuolo, Copenhagen, Juve, and Chelsea. Not a bad menu, and having a Mainoo in the engine could help a lot.

Carlo Gioia

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.