Napoli 1-0 Roma Player Ratings: Gli Azzurri Squeeze past Giallorossi thanks to Romelu Lukaku

one of the most iconic rivalries of Italian football unfolded in Naples at the iconic Stadio Diego Armando Maradona When Napoli hosted Roma for the Derby del Sole in the Serie A 2024/25 campaign. Antonio Conte led Napoli to ease past their southern rivals from the Captial with a 1-0 home victory courtesy of Romelu Lukaku’s sole goal of the match in the second half settled the fate of the game. Di Lorenzo created the chance for hosts to take the lead which subsequently differentiated the two sides.

Following the home win, Gli Azzurri retained their place at the top of the table with their 9th Serie win and claiming 29 points so far in this term. Meanwhile, the problem continues for Giallorossi with another defeat added to their poor run of performance in the Italian top flight as Claudio Reiner’s managed side stands down to the 13th spot with 13 points in as many league games this season.

On that note, let’s take a glance at how each performed in this fixture between Napoli and Roma

Napoli Player Ratings vs Roma

Goalkeeper

Alex Meret – 7

Napoli keeper Meret did not face much of problems besides that single save and maintained another league-clean sheet

Defenders

Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 8

The Napoli captain helped his side break the deadlock after halftime with a charging run. He controlled the cross with a chest down, and dragged it to the edge of the box, before whipping a low cross in front of goal.

Amir Rahmani – 7.5

With an unbelievable 122 touches in the game, Rahman’s ball-playing quality was on display with 92 passes while he built up the possession from the back.

Alessandro Buongiorno – 7

He was also good on the ball and made six clearances, four ball recoveries and was solid in duels.

Mathias Olivera – 6.5

The Ugruyan full-back often made forward runs and created single a chance while also making 10 passes into the attacking third from left.

Midfielders

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa – 7.5

The Cameroonian midfielder brought stability to Napoli’s midfield and took 87 touches, creating three chances with 11 passes into the final third. He was proactive in buildups and defence thanks to his amazing work rate.

Stanislav Lobotka – 7.5

Impressive game from Lobotka who maintained a passing accuracy of 97% and recorded 80 touches in the middle, while he won all of his duels four out of four.

Scott McTominay – 7

Another brilliant outing from McTominay in Napoli colours, he was effective in making runs inside the box and attempted a shot on goal and created a chance as well.

Forwards

Matteo Politano – 7

He looked dangerous down the right flank playing as a right winger and nearly found the back of the net with a brilliant left-footed effort from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Romelu Lukaku – 7.5

Lukaku has acquired a habit of scoring against his former clubs, and that is exactly what he did against Roma as well. He put the ball past Alex Meret, meeting a low cross of Di Lorenzo from the byline.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – 6

It was a rather frustrating night for Napoli’s star winger, who struggled to pick up his tempo and missed a big chance in the early minutes of the game, by heading the ball wide to an early cross in the box.

Substitutes

David Neres – 6

Giovanni Simeone – 6

Pasquale Mazzocchi – N/A

Michael Folorunsho – N/A

Manager

Antonio Conte – 7.5

Conte’s side dominated the game and gave the opposition no chance to cause any significant nuisances. His players implemented his tactics efficiently throughout the game and managed the game well after taking the lead.

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Roma Player Ratings vs Napoli

Goalkeeper

Mile Svilar – 6.5

Had very little involvement in the game apart from making a single save and conceding a goal from close range.

Defenders

Mehmet Zeki Celik – 7

The 27-year-old Right Back was amongst the standout names for the visitors, he was confident in taking players on with dribbling and mostly stayed high on flanks.

Gianluca Mancini – 6.5

He tried his best to keep the Napoli attacks at bay, but it was not enough to execute the task.

Evan N’Dicka – 6.5

He made three clearances and made one crucial block, and also got himself booked for the challenge

Angelino – 7

The Spanish left-back had a good game creating three chances and made a few charging runs down the flanks.

Midfielders

Niccolo Pisilli – 5.5

The 20-year-old failed to impress with his outing and surely needs more experience and improvements in his game.

Kouadio Koné – 7

He was the only standout player from the Roma midfield setup displaying solid performance in supporting the defense.

Bryan Cristante – 6

He picked up a yellow card and played accurate long passes in the match. Not up to the mark.

Stephan El Shaarawy – 6

Shaarawy was part of a double substitution made by Giallorossi coach Reneir during the halftime break after he could not influence the game with his play.

Forwards

Lorenzo Pellegrini – 5

Following a below-par performence in the first half, Roma’s captain was replaced by Tommaso Baldanzi at the half-time interval.

Artem Dovbyk – 7

The Ukrainian target did come close to adding a goal to his outing including a header to a free-kick pass, but got no luck in front of the goal as his shot met the woodwork.

Substitutes

Matt Hummels -6.5

Tommaso Baldanzi – 5.5

Paulo Dybala – 6

Samuel Dahl – 5

Saud Abdulhamid – 6

Manager

Claudio Ranieri – 6

The veteran Italian tactician’s third stint with Giallorossi started with poor defeat as his side could only register a single shot on goal and struggled to create chances and break the Napoli defence set-up.

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