While Chivu comes into the head-to-head clash with a +4 cushion and a full-strength squad at his disposal, Conte’s Napoli are ravaged by injuries and are putting all their faith in Højlund.
Antonio Conte was harshly criticized a few days ago for pointing out the structural differences between his Napoli and Italy’s historic top clubs—Juventus, Milan and Inter.
That said, Conte is an old fox and a seasoned navigator of Italian football waters, where laying the groundwork is practically the national sport after kicking a ball. And yet, the build-up to Inter–Napoli feels tailor-made by a top screenwriter to validate the Napoli coach’s theory.
There is a kind of loneliness that screams louder than any press-conference outburst and lays bare a reality that is as ruthless as it is undeniable: the loneliness of Napoli’s blond, blue-eyed No. 9. It is the technical appendix to the speech Conte delivered in Cremona about the gap with Italy’s elite clubs.
Only this time, on the eve of the San Siro showdown, the real divide has nothing to do with history, infrastructure or revenues—but with personnel.
The snapshot of this Scudetto head-to-head, one that could push Inter to +7 or bring Napoli back to -1, is entirely contained in the attacking options. Conte is preparing the match with just one forward at peak physical and mental condition: Højlund.
A lone spearhead. Former star Lukaku has been sidelined since August, while Lucca is on his way out after an unconvincing first half of the season. As if that weren’t enough, even Neres—the true partner for Rasmus—is a major doubt after picking up a left-ankle injury six days ago against Lazio.
Chivu, by contrast, enjoys the luxury of abundance. In his 3-5-2, he can choose his strike partnership from Lautaro, Marcus Thuram, Pio Esposito and Bonny. And even if he were to get the initial call wrong, he would still have plenty of proven in-game solutions to fix it.
Considering that, with goals conceded being equal (15), the real statistical gap between Inter and Napoli in the league lies entirely in goals scored (40 to 28), the picture of the two attacks is crystal clear—4K sharpness: four against one.
Højlund against everyone.
L’articolo Inter–Napoli: a dangerous crossroads, especially for Conte proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
