Coppa Italia: Conte sticks with Milinkovic-Savic for penalties | OneFootball

Napoli's journey in the Coppa Italia continues, but not without a thrill: the round of 16 against Cagliari was overcome only thanks to the penalty shootout. This hard-fought victory extends the recent positive streak of the Neapolitan team, which, after a period of ups and downs, has secured important wins in the league and in Europe. However, the most tactically interesting element turned out to be the choice in goal.

Coppa Italia, Conte breaks the rotation in goal: the choice of Milinkovic-Savic reveals his reading of the match

Contrary to what might have been expected, Antonio Conte ignored the idea of rotating goalkeepers, once again fielding the irreplaceable starter, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. This decision, which left Nikita Contini on the bench, was not accidental but the result of an extremely clear strategic evaluation. As revealed by Il Mattino, the Azzurri coach had anticipated the most challenging scenario: a match conclusion decided by penalty kicks. In this phase of the Coppa Italia, indeed, the absence of extra time drastically increases the likelihood of a penalty shootout. Armed with this awareness, Conte deliberately relied on the former Torino player, trusting in his abilities. Ultimately, the choice proved to be successful: the reliability and the "big hands" of the Serbian goalkeeper were decisive in the final rush.

Andrea Alati

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