John Simeon ended up injured after a clash of heads that caused a cut on his scalp, but with the joy of having been important for Napoli to continue as leader of Serie A. The Argentine striker replaced Belgian Romelu Lukaku at 58 and, five minutes later, he was a fundamental part of the play that led to the penalty converted by the Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for 1-0 as a visitor against Empoli.
Another controversial decision resolved another ‘calcio’ match. If Milan-Udinese and Juventus Turin-Lazio did not cause enough noise due to the referee’s decisions, which ended up favoring the locals, the Empoli-Naples referee was in charge of adding fuel to the fire by pointing out a more than debatable penalty on Politano who ‘Kvara’ ended up converting to close a victory that was becoming difficult for the Neapolitans.
The Italian championship is even from the beginning as it has not been for a long time, any mistake, any stumble, any mistake, means a free fall in positions. The point difference in the head is minimal. And in fact, Empoli threatened to get into the fight after having obtained a favorable result against the leader.
And it wouldn’t have been strange if he won the game. Especially for his great first half, in which he seemed to be the true leader, he subdued Antonio Conte’s Napoli and turned Caprile, the Parthenopean goalkeeper, into the best player on the field, author of several elite saves to maintain the tie before of rest.
One of them, superlative to a beautiful volley shot by Sebastiano Esposito, the middle of the 3 best-known brothers in Italy, the only one who for now plays in the highest category of Italian football.
Without Lobotka, injured, Gilmour took the reins of the midfield and Napoli missed their usual playmaker. It was difficult for him to generate superiority and clear chances. He suffered in the retreat and in the release of the ball, but he withstood the storm in the first 45 minutes and left alive at half-time. It was the best news for the southerners, who changed noticeably for the second act.
Napoli managed to show its head and begin to gain confidence. And in an isolated play in which Politano reached the baseline, he managed to connect with ‘Cholito’ Simeone so that he finished on the run. The Argentine ran into Vásquez, the Colombian owned by Milan who is shining at the start of the campaign, but he left a loose rebound that Politano fought with Gyasi and that ended in a penalty.
The contact of the Empoli player, practically non-existent, was enough for the VAR to maintain the referee’s initial decision, provoking protests from the local team.
‘Kvara’ then challenged Vásquez, who was almost two meters tall. He tricked him and scored the only goal of the game. He certified victory and leadership, although with controversy. Napoli is more of a leader and responded to the victories of Milan and ‘Juve’. Empoli, despite its great game, is moving away from the noble part.