Napoli closely escaped a draw with Cagliari in the 16th match of the Serie A 2023/2024 campaign, which took place at Maradona. Napoli managed a narrow victory, ending the match at 2-1.
The game opened with a high strike from Kvara, provided with a free-kick by Lobotka, which sailed over the crossbar in the 5th minute. Kvara soon followed it with a fine cross to Osimhen in the 6th minute that failed to find the net.
The first considerable action for Cagliari came in the 20th minute; Oristanio broke away on the right and fed ball to Petagna but to no avail as Petagna failed to secure possession. Despite various attempts by both teams, including a free-kick for Napoli that saw Rrahmani’s header hitting the woodwork and a Cagliari’s corner being pushed out, the first half concluded scoreless.
Anguissa, a midfielder for Napoli, fired a shot from outside the box in the 54th minute, barely missing the target. Despite Napoli’s relentless attack, an initial goal was elusive.
The breakthrough for Napoli came in the 69th minute with Osimhen hitting the back of the net following a well-placed cross from Mario Rui. The celebration was short-lived, however, after Pavoletti secured a return goal for Cagliari just four minutes later off a cross shot from Luvumbo.
The match was settled when Kvaratskhelia scored for Napoli in the 78th minute, which eventually turned out to be the winning goal. With six minutes of extra time, an alteration to the score did not occur, leaving the final score at 2-1.
According to sources, Victor Osimhen was declared the best player of the match.
Napoli’s line-up in a 4-3-3 formation consisted of Meret as the goalkeeper, a defence made up of Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus and Natan, a midfield trio of Anguissa, Lobotka, and Cajuste, and a forward line of Politano, Osimhen, and Kvaratskhelia, led by coach Mazzarri.
Cagliari set up their squad in a 4-4-2 formation. Simultaneously, Scuffet defended the goalposts, with Nandez, Goldaniga, Dossena, and Augello making up the defence line. Jankto, Pavoletti, and Petagna led the attacking line, alongside Oristanio, Prati, and Makoumbou in the midfield. The team was led by Ranieri.