clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Wolfsburg 1, Napoli 4: Player ratings and Man of the Match poll

Who was the star of the show as Napoli swept Wolfsburg off the pitch on Thursday?

Martin Rose/Getty Images

What a win. What a performance. What a day. Napoli blasted Wolfsburg, and it was something to behold. Who was the best player, the most influential, the cause of the storm that Wolfsburg couldn't weather?

Starters

Mariano Andujar - 8 - Made a couple very impressive saves to help keep Wolfsburg at bay, including just catching enough of a rocket off Schürrle's boot to push it in to the crossbar. Still suffers from poor positioning and distribution, but was noticeably better on crosses in this match than normal.

Christian Maggio - 6 - Surprisingly effective going forward, but went through several stretches of the match of getting beaten like a drum defensively, including being largely to blame for Wolfsburg's goal.

Raul Albiol - 6 - Did OK. Didn't make too many mistakes, though he could have done better on Wolfsburg's goal.

Miguel Britos - 8 - Whaaaat? Britos has been a lightning rod of criticism this season, but he did excellently today. He somehow kept Dost at bay and did a damn good job of it, too.

Faouzi Ghoulam - 7 - His normal efficient and effective self. Kept Caligiuri quiet and wreaked havoc in attack. If he keeps playing like this, Napoli might have to fend off some pretty damn big offers for him this summer.

David Lopez - 9 - Kevin De Bruyne was quiet for long stretches of this match. Where was he? Ah, right, in Lopez's pocket. He was an absolute beast, cleaning up just about everything that came through midfield at Napoli's back line, and man was it a joy to behold.

Gokhan Inler - 5 - Struggled working against Gustavo and didn't do that well in attack. Inler's had some good matches over the last couple of months, but this wasn't one of them.

Jose Callejon - 7 - Definitely looks like he's getting back in form. Very active, very effective, and man it was fun to see him doing his thing. Didn't score, but was a constant threat, and his head's up play to help create Napoli's third goal was excellent.

Marek Hamsik - 9 - Man it's nice to see Hamsik playing at his best. His goals were indicative of his typical efficiency, and his creativity was a disruptive force to Wolfsburg's defense. They tried a bunch of different ways to keep Hamsik at bay, and none of them worked worth a damn.

Dries Mertens - 7 - His cross to set up Higuain's goal was lovely, and he was a menace in the first half. Wore down in the second, though, and being the first sub off the pitch made sense.

Gonzalo Higuain - 7 - Looked the best that he has in awhile, scoring a fantastic goal and keeping Wolfsburg's defense off-kilter for most of the match.

Substitutes

Lorenzo Insigne - 7 - His longest appearance since returning from his knee injury, and probably his most effective as well. Not that he wasn't effective before, but he seemed to find another gear in this match.

Manolo Gabbiadini - 7 - Looked more active and eager than he has in awhile, ending in his poacher's effort goal.

Henrique - n/a - Didn't spend a lot of time on the pitch as a clog-the-lines defensive substitute, but Wolfsburg didn't score while he was on the pitch, so mission accomplished, right?

ssc napoli blog sbn

Who was Napoli's Man of the Match against Wolfsburg? Vote in the poll below and discuss the performances in the comments!