Anguissa headed home as Napoli won 1-0 at Lecce
VAR awarded Lecce a penalty in the 51st minute but Camarda was saved by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; in the 69th minute, Anguissa headed in Neres' free kick to make it 1-0 for Napoli.
Round 9 of Serie A at the Stadio Via del Mare ended with a 1-0 win for Napoli: Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa jumped high to head home in the 69th minute after David Neres's awkward cross. The visitors had been on a tightrope earlier when VAR determined Juan Jesus' handball in the 51st minute, awarding a penalty to Lecce, but Vanja Milinkovic-Savic guessed correctly and saved Francesco Camarda's low shot.
VAR, missed penalty and decisive header
In the 51st minute, from an aerial battle, the ball hit Juan Jesus' hand in the penalty area. Referee Giuseppe Collu consulted VAR and pointed to the 11m mark. Camarda shot low to the left corner, but Milinkovic-Savic did not dive early, reaching out to push the ball away to save the goal. That was the turning point that helped Napoli stand firm.
Antonio Conte reacted quickly with a series of rhythm adjustments – adding energy in midfield and attacking depth: David Neres came on for the injured Noa Lang, before Scott McTominay, Leonardo Spinazzola and Rasmus Hojlund appeared in turn. The effect was immediate in the 69th minute: Neres earned and took a free kick from the right, curling the ball into the six-yard box; Anguissa chose the perfect landing spot, skillfully heading the ball beyond Wladimiro Falcone's reach. 1-0 to Napoli.
Napoli dominated the midfield with pressing and the triangle of Gilmour – Anguissa – Elmas
From the start, Napoli maintained control and rhythmic pressing with a 4-3-3 structure. The Billy Gilmour – Anguissa – Eljif Elmas triangle helped the away team dominate the opponent’s half of the field, continuously opening up points into the penalty area with passes along the corridor.
Border corridors and early opportunities
Chances came regularly: Gilmour volleyed past the post in the 12th minute; Giovanni Di Lorenzo headed back for Anguissa to finish but was blocked in the 16th minute; Matteo Politano's shot hit his opponent and went wide in the 18th minute. Between the 31st and 35th minutes, Mathias Olivera twice climbed the left wing to send the ball across the goal and had his shot hooked by Tiago Gabriel right on the goal line. Napoli's only problem in the first half was that the final pass was not sharp enough to break the ice.
Lecce counter-attacked in time, but lacked a finisher
Despite being at a disadvantage, Lecce still knew how to wait for the right moment. In the 45+1 minute, Lameck Banda accelerated down the left wing and crossed to Camarda who turned and volleyed diagonally, the ball licked the bar - a warning to Napoli not to be careless. After conceding the goal, Marco Baroni increased his energy with Balthazar Pierret, Konan N'Dri and Youssef Maleh. They caused trouble thanks to high pressing and Antonio Gallo's runs up the flank, but lacked a sharp finish in the penalty area. The blocked penalty became the most regretful moment for the home team.
End-game management: block space, lock rhythm
In the 7 minutes of extra time, Napoli withdrew their formation just enough to tighten the space in front of the penalty area. On the right half, Gilmour kept a calm rhythm, creating triangles with Neres and Anguissa to legally waste time, pushing Lecce away from the danger zone. In the 90+4 minute, a cross from Neres made Danilo Veiga fumble and almost scored an own goal - the exclamation point for the away team's proactive play until the end of the match.
Serie A standings impact
A 1-0 win at Via del Mare took Napoli to 21 points after nine games and temporarily took the lead in Serie A with Roma having a game in hand. Lecce are 16th with six points – and will still be tormented by the missed penalty.
Lineups and diagrams
Napoli (4-3-3)
- Vanja Milinkovic-Savic; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Alessandro Buongiorno, Juan Jesus, Mathias Olivera
- Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Billy Gilmour, Eljif Elmas
- Matteo Politano, Lorenzo Lucca, Noa Lang
- Subs: Mathias Ferrante, Nikita Contini, Amir Rrahmani, Leonardo Spinazzola, Luca Marianucci, Miguel Gutierrez, Pasquale Mazzocchi, Sam Beukema, Scott McTominay, Antonio Vergara, David Neres, Giuseppe Ambrosino, Rasmus Hojlund
Lecce (4-3-3)
- Wladimiro Falcone; Danilo Veiga, Kialonda Gaspar, Tiago Gabriel, Antonio Gallo
- Lassana Coulibaly, Ylber Ramadani, Medon Berisha
- Santiago Pierotti, Francesco Camarda, Lameck Banda
- Subs: Christian Fruchtl, Jasper Samooja, Corrie Ndaba, Jamil Siebert, Alex Sala, Tete Morente, Nikola Stulic, Konan N'Dri, Thorir Helgason, Christ-Owen Kouassi, Balthazar Pierret, Mohamed Kaba, Niko Kovac, Youssef Maleh