Napoli Crash Out of Europa League in Spite of 2nd Leg Victory Against Granada

Granada cap out a great recent period with qualification to Round of 16 og the Europa League at the expense of Serie A side Napoli.

Gli Azzurri did put in the kind of confident display that was not evident in last week’s match back in Spain, but it was too little too late. While Napoli won by a 2-1 scoreline, ultiately they succumbed to a 4-3 defeat on aggregate.

The team’s line-ups were:

Napoli (3-4-1-2): Meret, Rrahmani, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Di Lorenzo, Fabian Rui, Bakayoko, Elmas, Zielinski, Politano, Insigne.

Granada (4-2-3-1): Rui Silva, Foulquier, German, Duarte, Neva, Montoro, Eteki, Puertas, Gonalons, Kenedy, Molina.

For Granada, this is a significant success and showcases how far the team has come in recent times. Last season, the team finished 7th in La Liga, one of the best football competitions in the world. This season, they could repeat their success as they are currently in 9th place.

Napoli began the game in the best possible way, scoring in just the 3rd minute when defensive midfielder Tiémoué Bakayoko won back possession and put Piotr Zieliński in on goal.

Granada put on the breaks on the Serie A side’s dominance, scoring in the 25th minute when Angel Montoro took advantage of poor marking to head the ball into the back of the net.

Napoli scored the winner in the 59th minute when Zielinski won back possession and passed to Lorenzo Insigne who found Fabian Ruiz within space to make it 2-1.

Despite attacking wildly during the final hour of the game, the score stayed the same. Napoli saved some of their blushes by winning the second leg, but it’s not enough to save their European campaign. With pressure mounting on current manager Gennaro Gattuso, speculation is bound to be ripe in the following days.

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