Napoli have experienced a downward trend in performances staged at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this season. Last night’s 1-1 draw with Union Berlin in the Champions League extended the winless run in their home to 43 days. New manager Rudi Garcia has found it hard to deliver convincing results after he took over last term’s Scudetto-winning side from Luciano Spalletti, leading to doubts about his future.
According to statistics provided by Sky Italia, the Partenopei faithfuls enjoyed their team’s success in their backyard on September 27th this year and since then, things haven’t turned out well for the current Scudetto holders. Napoli suffered two consecutive defeats at home after the 4-1 victory against Udinese, the first one came versus Real Madrid in their Champions League opener and it followed up with another disastrous performance against Fiorentina in the Serie A.
The Milan game was perfect for the Neapolitans to snatch a memorable win in front of their fans but the Rossoneri put up a resilient fight to settle for a draw. Last night’s result in the Champions League was pretty unexpected as Napoli were tilted to overpower debutants Union Berlin, however, they failed and the Germans held them from confirming their place in the knockouts.
There is another statistic that Rudi Garcia’s men must work on at the ‘Maradona’. Their last home clean sheet came on the second matchday of the season during a 2-0 win against Sassuolo. Since then, they have conceded twelve goals in seven games. This is a worrying sign for the French manager who is yet to get his players on the right track to consolidate a bigger Scudetto defence.
While Napoli haven’t convinced at home this season, they have a match coming up against Empoli this weekend. This might be the perfect opportunity to keep the three points at home and perhaps without conceding a goal.
Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN
