5 things we learned from Lazio-Napoli

Napoli rebounded from last weekend’s defeat to Juventus by defeating Lazio 1-0 to go third in the table, one spot ahead of their rivals in the capital in the race for the Champions League.

Rafael Benitez’s side arrived in Rome intent on shutting their opponents down and Gonzalo Higuian’s acute finish in the first half was all they needed.

So as Napoli move forward, and Lazio remain weighed down by injuries, let’s look at what we learned from today’s action.

Higuian still loves playing The Eagles

By scoring his side’s winner, netting for the tenth time in Serie A this season, Higuian made it seven goals in his last four appearances against Lazio. You might think he raises his game against the Romans then, but to tell the truth, he’s been this good all season and now becomes the fourth player to score at least ten Serie A goals this term. His finish, a venomous drive at the near post after holding the ball up alone, was the mark of a striker in form.

Napoli grind it out without exerting themselves

Indeed, the solitary nature of Higuian’s goal epitomised Napoli’s performance – quick-thinking, industrious and economical. While the hosts wasted their chances in front of goal Napoli came off on top by making better use of the ball on the counter-attack - not from starting out with any sense of attacking panache or reckless ambition. Their pace on the break was frightening, and Higuian, Jonathan de Guzman and Jose Callejon all exploited space in the final third. 

Naples men can look ahead to European qualification

Although Napoli missed out on reaching the Champions League last season, dropping out in the play-offs to Athletic Bilbao, the Blues look assured of at least a preliminary spot again this time around. They move to third above Lazio and the nature of their battling, with Marek Hamsik benched until past the hour, shows they can grind out results on the road – a habit they will need in Europe. That’s without mentioning the experienced signing from Dnipro, Ivan Strinic, who kept Antonio Candreva quiet and impressed on his debut at full-back.

Crowded treatment room at Lazio is taking its toll

It’s not so rosy at the Stadio Olimpico however. Having thrown away a two-goal lead  to draw 2-2 in the Rome derby last weekend, Lazio entered this defeat with a threadbare squad once more. Standouts at both ends of the pitch such as Stefan de Vrij, Stefano Mauri and Felipe Anderson are all still out while the likes of Keita Balde, the tricky 19-year-old from Barcelona, and Danilo Cataldi, a 20-year-old with potential in midfield, will need time to express themselves.

Djordjevic is struggling to fill the void

Of course, with attacking talent on the sidelines now is the time for the Serbia forward, Filip Djordjevic, to rediscover the form that helped him score a hat-trick against Palermo in September. Still, against Napoli he failed to read any of Candreva’s crosses – despite their variety – and didn’t create any chances himself, stretching his barren run to just two goals in 12 appearances. Elsewhere Marco Parlo headed against the bar, while Balde and Luis Cavanda missed chances that will haunt them in their sleep.

By Alistair Hendrie (January 2015)