Roma 1, Napoli 0: Player ratings and Man of the Match poll

The loss was unpleasant and some of the players did poorly, but there were still some bright notes to take away. Who did the best for Napoli on a bad day?

Starters

Mariano Andujar - 4 - The more he has moments like on Roma's goal, the more I start to think he has problems reading the game in front of him. Pjanic's momentum and body shape completely telegraphed where he was going with his shot, but Andujar went the wrong way anyways. That's kiiiiiiind of not good.

Christian Maggio - 5 - I love Maggio and everything he's done for Napoli, but ... he might be done at this level. At 33 and with all the leg injuries he's dealt with over the last few years, he just doesn't have the legs to deal with an Iturbe or to get up and effectively support the attack, and those two thing hurt Napoli over and over and over on Saturday.

Raul Albiol - 5 - Got beaten like a drum several times in open play, most notably on the goal, when he was far, far too slow to react to Pjanic moving in to space left by Britos sliding over to cover Florenzi. Did well on some set pieces, though, so that's something.

Miguel Britos - 6 - Actually did quite well and was the one mostly responsible for keeping Ljajic quiet, though he probably shouldn't have cheated as far wide as he did on Roma's goal. It's understandable why he did, but with Albiol's positional weakness this season, Britos shouldn't have expected the space he left to be covered.

Faouzi Ghoulam - 7 - Paired with Mertens to run most of Napoli attack, creating quite a force on the left side of the pitch. Got caught too far up on Roma's goal, which hurt, but kept his area locked down otherwise.

David Lopez - 7 - Shut down Nainggolan, which is no easy task, and sent De Rossi scampering away every time the Italian tried to come up the pitch. Some have said this was the wrong match for him, but against a free-ranging midfield like Roma's, this is exactly where you need Lopez the most. Maybe he should have been marking Pjanic more often, but that's on Rafa's decisions and assignments, not Lopez.

Jorginho - 6 - Not quite as good as his last couple of appearances were, but Jorginho's poor form is definitely well behind him. Most of Napoli's better open play chances saw him involved in some way, and did a mostly good job in defense.

Jose Callejon - 6 - Better than he has been, but still not great. Utterly lost in front of goal, though he was better in other phases of his game in this match.

Jonathan De Guzman - 2 - Stop this madness, Rafa. Just stop. De Guzman in the hole behind the striker just hurts Napoli. He's useless as a creative focus, and isn't doing anything in the final third worth keeping him in the side. This is pointless and self-destructive.

Dries Mertens - 8 - It's a crying shame that Mertens couldn't get a goal, because he very much deserved one. A dominant force that made Torosidis look like a U21 player and was a constant threat for Napoli. This was his best performance for Napoli in a long time.

Gonzalo Higuain - 4 - Got shut down by Manolas in the first half and got petulant in the second half. You can guess how well that went.

Substitutes

Manolo Gabbiadini - 6 - Gave more energy and activity in the final third than Callejon did, but wasn't as efficient with it as his norm. At least he wasn't asked to be a playmaker this time, though.

Duvan Zapata - 6 - Did more in the box and created more danger than Higuain did, which is perhaps not surprising with how much Roma have struggled with physical strikers this season.

Lorenzo Insigne - 1,000 - No, I don't care that he was only on the pitch for ten minutes and touched the ball eight times. This was his first match since he tore up his knee in November, and he actually looked dangerous a couple times in his few minutes. That's huge in and of itself.

Who was your man of the match for Napoli against AS Roma? Vote in the poll below and