Napoli 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain
This wasn’t an exciting Champions League match, but the star quality present on the pitch when Napoli and Paris Saint-German butted heads for the second time was breathtaking.
Naples bore witness to some of the world’s best footballers strut their stuff and take all of the three points. While the result wasn’t what many SBOBET Champions League fans wanted, the contents of this game were enough to keep us talking for days!
Highlights of the game
The match began with the two European giants skirmishing in the midfield. Whenever you have players such as Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe sharing the same pitch, it’s hard not to expect some fantastic footballing action!
Insigne knew that allowing PSG some momentum into the game will only invite disaster, so he and Mertens tried to make things happen on attack and defence and not allow the Ligue 1 juggernauts to have a foothold at the Stadio San Paolo.
However, it is inevitable that Neymar and Mbappe will find themselves with the football and try to make something happen. Everyone in Carlo Ancelotti’s side is especially wary of Mbappe. The world’s best teenager is expected to become the best and showcased his quality in the 23rd minute.
After spells of dominating with the ball and making piercing dribbles on the left during the early minutes, he caught a superb cross on the edge of the box and fired the ball goalwards. Fortunately for the Napoli faithful, the ball grazed over the crossbar.
The match raged on as the players continued to pry the floodgates open and get onto scoring form. PSG seemingly took control of the pace by the 20-minute mark, but Napoli seemingly wrestled back the balance of the match.
Neymar and Angel Di Maria continued pounding Napoli’s defence, mixing short and long passes in order to constantly challenge the I Partenopei backline and tire them out. Their pesky attacks eventually bore fruit when the first goal was scored in the dying moments of the first half.
Mbappe got an open ball and ran into open space, baiting defenders to come to him. He then made a quick through ball to the rushing Juan Bernat. He stumbled while getting the ball but managed to kick the ball past David Ospina before hitting the pitch. He immediately ran to Mbappe and celebrate their thrilling lead.
Ancelotti looked like he didn’t worry a single bit, though. While he was hoping that his team would keep the stalemate before the end of the half, he didn’t seem particularly bothered when his team unluckily went down at the end of the half. He instead focused on reorganising his team and playing aggressive football at the reset.
That’s exactly what Napoli did when the second half started. Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon led the charge as they put the Parisien defence to the test. They launched attack after attack, giving little room for captain Thiago Silva to properly reorganise his men.
Napoli’s fiery pursuit finally bore fruit when Italy legend and PSG stopper Gianluigi Buffon made a wrong decision and conceded a penalty for Napoli.
Up then stepped Lorenzo Insigne. These two are familiar with each other’s tendencies as they spent time together in the Italian national team. Lorenzo aimed to the bottom left, and Buffon made the right guess. Unfortunately for him, the ball was too fast for him to spill outwards, and Napoli equalised.
It was from that moment on that everyone knew the game was set. Mbappe and Neymar still tried to force their way back to the top of the game, but the sturdy Napoli backline didn’t allow PSG to even challenge Ospina.
This is the best result for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool after suffering a humiliating defeat against Red Star Belgrade. This is a great result for Napoli as Le Parisiens were slight favourites according to pre-match Napoli vs PSG odds. The German admitted that these two teams are tough opposition for the knockout rounds, and them drawing keeps everything level.
Key statistics
Casuals who didn’t watch the game might be quick to blame the Italian keeper for the draw. However, those at the Stadio San Paolo were reminded just how good the former Juventus man is. He made four important saves in the second half that could have easily put PSG in a big ditch.
If the PSG supporters are still looking for something to blame on this result, the Parisiens‘ lack of attacking intent is the biggest culprit. They had 55% of ball possession, but they only took nine shot attempts. They weren’t able to make the most out of their time with the ball due to Napoli’s solid defensive tactics.
What’s next?
Both teams kept their undefeated streak alive and will be looking forward to their next match. PSG will be facing Monaco and Toulouse in Ligue 1 before squaring off against Liverpool at the Parc des Princes. Napoli will be facing Genoa and Chievo in their domestic fixtures before hosting a confident Red Star Belgrade next month.
For more Champions League 2018 updates, keep your eye peeled here at SBOBET.
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