The Siren's Song - Europa League: Napoli vs. Villarreal, 2016.02.25Fall Under the Spell of Napolihttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52658/tss_fav.png2016-02-26T10:40:10+01:00http://www.thesirenssong.com/rss/stream/108803392016-02-26T10:40:10+01:002016-02-26T10:40:10+01:00The silver lining in Europa League elimination
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<figcaption>Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>With Napoli's form sagging more and more over the last month, their Europa League elimination may be more blessing than curse.</p> <p>On Thursday, Napoli were dealt a harsh blow to their goals for this season, being eliminated from the Europa League by Villarreal in front of the home San Paolo crowd. It was infuriating. It was humiliating. It was disappointing.</p>
<p>And it may have saved <a href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Napoli's</a> season.</p>
<p>While Napoli have emphasized the importance of Europe's second competition over the last few years, even making the semi-finals last season, the fact remains that they were ill-suited for the competition this year. Despite their perfect and record-setting group stage run, Napoli simply do not have the depth for an extended run in the Europa League, a fact that has reared its ugly head in a big way over the last month.</p>
<p>Just look at the lineups Napoli have been fielding as they've rotated to play on multiple fronts over the last month. <span>Mirko Valdifiori</span> has been a mess at the best of times. David Lopez has been more good than bad, but when he's been bad it's been <i>bad</i>. <span>Christian Maggio</span> is a shattered shell of what he once was. <span>Dries Mertens</span> has been exciting at times and absent at others. <span>Manolo Gabbiadini</span> is so far out of form it's not even funny.</p>
<p>Then there's the growing fatigue running rampant through much of the team ever since the Coppa Italia match against <a href="https://www.serpentsofmadonnina.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Inter Milan</a>. Marek Hamsik. Allan. Jose Callejon. Elseid Hysaj. Kalidou Kouliably. Faouzi Ghoulam. So many key players who are just shattered by fatigue and playing nowhere near their full potential because of it, and holding back the team's potential as a result.</p>
<div class="pullquote">Napoli simply do not have the depth to compete on multiple fronts</div>
<p><br id="1456479417969"> "But Napoli got farther in the Europa League and Coppa Italia with a team with very similar depth last year!" you cry. And yes, that is true. But that was done though smoke and mirrors and by sacrificing Napoli's league form. Finishing behind Roma and <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/lazio" class="sbn-auto-link">Lazio</a> and <a href="https://www.violanation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Fiorentina</a> is not exactly acceptable in Naples these days, and one would imagine that Napoli fans would have traded those two semi-final berths in the cups last season in order to finish second in the league and mount a challenge to <a href="https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Juventus</a> like the one they're making this year.</p>
<p>So now, with Napoli out of the Europa League and out of the Coppa Italia, their lack of depth becomes less of a concern. <span>Maurizio Sarri</span> no longer has to micromanage his squad quite as much, and can be freer with how he sets up his lineups and utilizes substitutes, not having to consider how playing in <i>this</i> match in the league will impact the player's ability to perform in <i>that</i> match on the continent. It will allow him to finally tap into the potential of parts of the squad that have gone underutilized because of Napoli's need to be prepared for a multitude of matches, and players like Mertens and Manolo Gabbiadini will surely benefit, as well as likely boons for the likes of <span>Nathaniel Chalobah</span> and even <span>Alberto Grassi</span> once he returns to health.</p>
<p>With Napoli staring down what will likely be a tight and intense Serie A title race, they need their players as fresh and fit as can be, something that has not been the case of late and that has heavily contributed to their dip in form. Now they can focus on just one task, just one race, and hopefully be all the better for it. They need to improve their form first, obviously, but not having to divide their attention should help that tremendously.</p>
<p>Being eliminated from the Europa League, especially in such brutally disappointing fashion, certainly stings. That's not a pain that will go away quickly, but if Napoli can take this and become a better team in the league because of it -- heck, we may wind up thanking Villarreal come the end of the season.</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/special-features-napoli/2016/2/26/11118884/silver-lining-in-the-cloud-of-europa-league-elimination-serie-a-focusConor Dowley2016-02-26T01:12:32+01:002016-02-26T01:12:32+01:00Napoli easily eliminated from the Europa League
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<figcaption>Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>That was so, so disappointing.</p> <p>Napoli took an early lead, but could not hold it as Villarreal came back to draw the match 1-1 and win the tie 2-1 on aggregate. It was a letdown, it was disappointing, and it continued Napoli's unfortunate recent trend of finding ways not to win.</p>
<p>Things seemed to get off to a fantastic start when Marek Hamsik punished Villarreal for a mistake, blasting a volley off a headed clearance from a Villarreal defender that went to exactly the wrong place. Or the right one, depending on what team you root for. Regardless, Hamsik's shot snapped the back of the net, and for awhile, there was reason for optimism in Naples.</p>
<p>But just like last weekend's match, the rest of the game can be summed up with the sound of flatulence.</p>
<p>As the match went on, Napoli got flatter and flatter, and less effective in attack. They still got forward a lot, make no mistake, but Villarreal's compact and deep defense kept them at bay by forcing Napoli to go wide and try to launch crosses -- easily their weakest attacking mode. Between that and Gonzalo Higuain getting frustrated and taking chances he shouldn't have, including one from a poor position that Vlad Chiriches was less than a second from smashing home himself from a better spot, Napoli's attack was almost completely stymied.</p>
<p>Then, the gut punch. On recent form, it was not a huge shock to see Napoli give up a goal against the run of play and seemingly out of nowhere. Tomas Pina fired off what looked like was intended to be a cross, but it wandered close to goal and caught Pepe Reina wrong-footed -- then nestled itself into the back of the net. Villarreal had equalized the match out of nothing, gone up on aggregate, and picked up an away goal tiebreaker.</p>
<p>Napoli were pretty much sunk.</p>
<p>They tried, and tried, and tried some more, but nothing came of their efforts. They were eliminated from the Europa League with depressing ease, and their winless spiral of poor form and agonizing performances continues. Ever since that damn goal from Simone Zaza, things have not been very fun for Napoli.</p>
<p>Now they need to find a way to turn things around for their match this weekend against Fiorentina. If things don't turn around soon, Napoli can kiss the title race goodbye.</p>
<p>On to the next.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/" class="sbn-auto-link"><b>Napoli</b></a>: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Chiriches, Strinic (Maggio 64'); Lopez (Gabbiadini 79'), Valdifiori (Jorginho 75'), Hamsik; Insigne, Higuain, Mertens</p>
<p><i>Goals</i>: Hamsik (17')</p>
<p><a href="https://www.villarrealusa.com/" class="sbn-auto-link"><b>Villarreal</b></a>: Areola; Mario , Musacchio, Ruiz, Costa; Rukavina (Castillejo 77'), Pina (Trigueros 84'), Bruno, Suarez; Soldado (Adrian 70'), Bakambu</p>
<p><i>Goals</i>: Pina (59')</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/2016/2/26/11116246/napoli-villarreal-europa-league-2016-final-score-result-recapConor Dowley2016-02-25T21:32:42+01:002016-02-25T21:32:42+01:00Hamsik scores on a volleyed blast to equalize
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<figcaption>Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Napoli have leveled on aggregate thanks to this wonderful strike from their captain.</p> <p>Sometimes when a job needs doing, the captain just has to step up and do it himself. Enter Marek Hamsik, who has decided to carry <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a> on his back against <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.villarrealusa.com/">Villarreal</a>.</p>
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 55.686%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="https://streamable.com/e/qe8s?muted=1"></iframe></div>
<p style="font-size: smaller;text-align:right;font-style:italic">Credit: user <a target="new" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/47l6jm/hamsik_volley_vs_villareal_10/">papa_poncho</a> on r/soccer</p>
<p>Oh what a gorgeous strike that was, volleyed off a poor clearance from the Villarreal defense. Love you, il Capitano Marekiaro.</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/napoli-pictures-clips-funny/2016/2/25/11116240/marek-hamsik-goal-napoli-villarreal-europa-league-2016-watch-videoConor Dowley2016-02-25T20:37:58+01:002016-02-25T20:37:58+01:00Napoli v Villarreal: Lineups, chat & last stands
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<figcaption>Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>It's do or die time.</p> <p>I don't have a lot to say because I'm sick and my hand <i>really</i> hurts today, other than this: whether or not Napoli want to take the Europa League seriously this year, they <i>must</i> show great improvement over recent form in this match. Things are looking shaky enough right now without a fourth straight poor performance.</p>
<h4>Lineups:</h4>
<p><strong><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a></strong>: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Chiriches, Strinic; David Lopez, Valdifiori, Hamsik; Insigne, Higuain, Mertens</p>
<p><strong><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.villarrealusa.com/">Villarreal</a></strong>: Areola; Mario Gaspar, Musacchio, Victor Ruiz, Jaume Costa; Rukavina, Pina, Bruno Soriano, Suarez; Soldado, Bakambu</p>
<h4>Watch It</h4>
<p><b>TV</b>: Sky Calcio 1, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia (Italy), BT Sport Europe (U.K.)</p>
<p><b>Online</b>: Fox Soccer 2 Go, ESPN3 (U.S.), BT Sport Live Streaming (U.K.)</p>
<p>Other live viewing options can be found <a href="http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/1826901/napoli-vs-villarreal/" target="_blank">here</a>, and as always, you can discuss the match at hand in the comments below (links to illegal streams will be removed and repeat offenders banned). You can also follow along with us live on <a href="https://twitter.com/SirenSongNapoli" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and we'll have updates of the most important events on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SirenSongNapoli" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, which you should definitely like.</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/2016/2/25/11115864/napoli-villarreal-europa-league-2016-lineups-news-line-online-streamingConor Dowley2016-02-25T05:10:39+01:002016-02-25T05:10:39+01:00Napoli vs. Villarreal preview: Do or die in Europe
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<figcaption>Jose Jordan/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>It's time for Napoli to put up or shut up in the Europa League.</p> <p>Napoli's recent poor form has put them into a position they don't want to be in -- trailing in their Europa league tie with Villarreal with just 90 minutes of action to turn the tie around. They'll have the San Paolo crowd behind them to rally them on, but it's going to be a tough battle if Napoli are going to win and advance.</p>
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<font color="#5ba4c7">Napoli</font> vs. Villarreal:<span>Thursday, February 25, 2016</span> <span>9 p.m. CET, 3 p.m. ET</span> <span>Stadio San Paolo</span><span>Naples, Italy</span>
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<p>The <i>partenopei</i> are going to have to change their approach in this match in order to get the result they need and desire. Jorginho <i>must</i> start after how poor Mirko Valdifiori was in the first leg, and the front line must be adjusted as well. Gonzalo Higuain is a near certainty to be in the starting lineup, and don't be surprised if we see a recently-fatigued Jose Callejon start on the bench. His runs are valuable against a deep defense like Villarreal use, but having those runs come with fresher legs late in the match as the Spaniards themselves wear down might be more valuable.</p>
<p>Raul Albiol seems a lock to start in defense after resting in the first leg, and after a few moments of poor luck leading to goals, Kalidou Koulibaly looks like the one set to ride the bench. We'll probably see the same pair of fullbacks from the first leg -- Ivan Strinic had his side of the pitch locked down and supported the attack well, and while Elseid Hysaj struggled more than we usually see in attack, he kept Denis Suarez pretty well contained in defense -- though obviously he couldn't do much about the Spaniard's free kick goal.</p>
<p>On a whole, Napoli must be sharper and more aggressive than we saw at any point in the first leg. Napoli pretty well played into Villarreal's hands in that game, and their smaller overall players and lack of effective crossing kept them from being able to pull that bunker apart.</p>
<p>Villarreal will be forced to rotate their side some through injury, with Jonathan Dos Santos out for sure and Jaume Costa a great doubt. They're running on a great high, however, having beaten Napoli a week ago and holding Atletico Madrid to an extremely hard-fought draw at the weekend. They're still a dangerous opponent who are well-suited to frustrate Napoli just as we saw last week -- will the loud crowd of <i>partenopei</i> faithful be enough to see Napoli through? We'll find out, but one thing is for certain: this match is going to be hell on our nerves to watch.</p>
<h5>Projected Lineups Sure To Be Wrong</h5>
<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.villarrealusa.com/">Villarreal</a></b>: Areola; Mario, Musacchio, Ruiz, Bailly; Rukavina, Trigueros, Bruno, Suarez; Bakambu, Soldado</p>
<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a></b>: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Chiriches, Strinic; Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik; Gabbiadini, Higuain, Mertens</p>
<h5>At A Glance</h5>
<p>Villarreal: 4th in La Liga; 14W 7D 4L; League Form: DWDWDD</p>
<p>Napoli: 2nd in Serie A; 17W 6D 3L; League Form: DLWWWW</p>
<h5>Reverse Fixture: <a href="http://www.thesirenssong.com/2016/2/19/11055270/villarreal-napoli-europa-league-2016-final-score-result-recap" target="new">Villarreal 1-0 Napoli</a>
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<p>Napoli failed to live up to expectations against Villarreal in the first leg, proving unable to break the bunkered defense of their Spanish opponents at El Madrigal. The match had looked fated to end as a scoreless draw -- not actually a terrible result in the away leg of a European knockout tie -- but a late free kick from Denis Suarez broke the deadlock and forced Napoli into desperation mode for the second leg.</p>
<h5>Watch It</h5>
<p><b>TV</b>: Sky Calcio 1, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia (Italy), BT Sport Europe (U.K.)</p>
<p><b>Online</b>: Fox Soccer 2 Go, ESPN3 (U.S.), BT Sport Live Streaming (U.K.)</p>
<p>Other live viewing options can be found <a href="http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/1826901/napoli-vs-villarreal/" target="_blank">here</a>, and as always, we'll have a match thread live here for discussion of the game at hand. You can also follow along with us live on <a href="https://twitter.com/SirenSongNapoli" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and we'll have updates of the most important events on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SirenSongNapoli" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, which you should definitely like.</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/2016/2/25/11111256/napoli-villarreal-europa-league-2016-team-news-preview-tv-schedule-live-online-streamingConor Dowley