UEFA Champions League 2017/18: Manchester City 2-1 Napoli, 5 talking points

#4 Napoli exploited City's weaknesses but weren't clinical

Napoli's decision to move further up the field in the second half worked for the better part. When they were breaking on the counter, the Serie A leaders tried to exploit the gaps that opened up in defence in the absence of Walker or Delph protecting the wings.

They also switched the play to the wings to great effect and stretched the City midfielders who were getting a little too comfortable defending in packs.

Napoli's patient game, quick interplay and swift movements caused City defenders some trouble and the game was well on its way to becoming a cagey affair.

However, their movement and passing in the final third left a lot to be desired. After Insigne was taken off, Napoli lost a bit of steam.

Mertens' spot-kick in the first half was a rather tame effort and if that had gone in, it could have been an entirely different game.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

Know More

Edited by Shambhu Ajith