Napoli struggle without Højlund and McTominay, Conte seeks answers vs PSV | OneFootball

Antonio Conte's Napoli is going through the most challenging period of the season. After the defeat in Turin, their third in the league, the Italian champions are showing signs of fragility, mainly due to the absence of Rasmus Højlund and Scott McTominay, two key players in the tactical setup of the team.

Napoli, without Højlund and McTominay, the play dims: Conte seeks new solutions ahead of the Champions League with PSV

The recovery times for the two remain uncertain: the Dane holds some hope of returning for the Champions League match against PSV, but the Scotsman is unlikely to be available.

A strong but identity-challenged Napoli

The team retains quality and technical depth but seems to lack clear references. "Napoli is experiencing a sort of disorientation," writes Cocchi, "difficult to interpret." Conte, for his part, had already pointed out that the club had strengthened more in terms of numbers than technically.

Against Torino, the absences highlighted the limits of a large but not perfectly balanced squad. Napoli creates a lot but concedes goals due to individual errors, not due to the tactical superiority of the opponents.

Examples abound:

Gilmour's erroneous pass that favored Simeone's goal.

Marianucci's missed slide on Pulisic.

Di Lorenzo's naive foul on Haaland at the Etihad, resulting in a red card and numerical inferiority against City.

In none of these matches, however, did the team seem dominated in play.

Two versions of the 4-3-3: everything changes with or without McTominay

Conte had introduced two interpretations of his 4-3-3:

Asymmetric, with De Bruyne and McTominay simultaneously on the field. In this configuration, the Belgian drops next to the playmaker in construction, while the Scotsman occupies the left half-space.

Classic, with two pure offensive wingers, a scheme required when McTominay is unavailable.

In Turin, the absence of the former Manchester United player forced Conte to field Neres and Spinazzola, later replaced by Lang, with Politano coming on in the second half. A solution that removed fluidity and automatisms from the offensive play.

Højlund, the striker who gives meaning to the play

The other major absentee, Højlund, represents the cornerstone of Conte's offensive idea. The coach had built a precise connection between the Dane, highly skilled at moving in depth, and De Bruyne, a master at serving him in space.

Without him, the "coded situations" of Conte's system crumble. Lucca has similar characteristics but not the same speed or the same understanding with his teammates. Furthermore, the simultaneous absence of Lukaku, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Politano, and Lobotka has worsened the situation, making a drop in performance inevitable.

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