Napoli

As system clubs start to falter, the future seems to belong to the teams and coaches who are willing to be a little more flexible.

Alaba, to his credit, indulged the nonsense, explaining that the Austrian team voted as a collective and that the majority of the players’ council had favored Messi. The immediate suspicion, where any FIFA award is concerned, is that her victory is a testament to the power of reputation. (A note, here, for the captain of Gabon and the coach of Botswana, who watched Messi inspire Argentina to the World Cup title and both In the case of Putellas, though, it is likely to be something else. And they both rely, essentially, on a conception of soccer as a game defined less by the position of the ball and more by the occupation and creation of space. It is centered, instead, on the ball: As long as his players are close to it, what theoretical position they play does not matter in the slightest. Diniz, like Spalletti, does not believe in assigning his players specific positions or roles, but in allowing them to interchange at will, to respond to the exigencies of the game. Barring any major setbacks, Putellas will feature for Spain at the World Cup that opens in July, and the tournament will be all the better for it. Soccer’s history, though, is a process of call and response, of action and reaction. A team presented in a 4-3-3 on a graphic before kickoff might be playing a 3-5-2 while that image is still fresh in the memory. None of that is to say that formations are completely meaningless. The same goes for all those pithy threads of numbers that are hard-wired into soccer’s vernacular, the communal, universal drop-down list of legitimate patterns in which a team might be arrayed: 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1 and even the fabled, fading 4-4-2.

A second-half strike by midfielder Matias Vecino earned Lazio a 1-0 win over Napoli in Serie A on Friday, ending the runaway leaders' winning streak of ...

"The draw was the correct and fairest thing. (Coach Luciano) Spalletti has been phenomenal." "If you read Napoli's numbers at home, it becomes difficult to think you can win.

Matias Vecino's brilliant long-range strike earned Lazio a 1-0 win at Napoli on Friday as the runaway Serie A leaders lost for only the second time in the ...

Get the latest Football updates on Eurosport. Catch Napoli - SS Lazio live on 03/03/2023. Find scores, stats and comments in real time.

Lazio went closest to opening the scoring early on but that's been the only clear-cut chance of what's been a fairly lacklustre first period. The replay shows the Lazio defender's shoulder connects with Osimhen's face. The Napoli striker takes a sore one as he comes together with Patric. Kvaratskhelia's header lands on Vecino's right foot but he still has it all to do and unleashes a rocket of a half-volley from 25 yards that gives Meret no chance in goal. It's deflected out for a corner, which Lazio are able to eventually clear. It's all Napoli as the hosts chase an equaliser.

Lazio's first victory in Naples in almost eight years followed a high-intensity match at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona but with few concrete goalscoring ...

Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel then pulled off a stunning save to keep out a header from Kim Min-Jae on the rebound. Lazio went in front nine minutes later, during Napoli’s best period of the match. Lazio’s first victory in Naples in almost eight years followed a high-intensity match at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona but with few concrete goalscoring opportunities.

The starting lineups for tonight's Serie A clash between Luciano Spalletti's Napoli and Maurizio Sarri's Lazio have been announced...

Spalletti’s side already have an 18-point gap to second in the league table and have shown no signs of slowing down this season. Kim Min-Jae is only one yellow card away from picking up a one-game ban. Alessio Romagnoli has recovered for the Biancocelesti and will be slotted into the starting lineup, and Pedro will be on the bench despite suffering from both a nose and hand fracture in recent weeks.

NAPLES, March 3 (Reuters) - A second-half strike by midfielder Matias Vecino earned Lazio a 1-0 win over Napoli in Serie A on Friday, ending the runaway ...

[Lazio](/soccer/team?id=112), who made it three league wins in a row for the first time since October, have provisionally moved two places up to second in the standings on 48 points, one above third-placed [Inter Milan](/soccer/team/_/id/110/internazionale) and [AC Milan](/soccer/team?id=103) in fourth, both with a game in hand. "The draw was the correct and fairest thing. [Coach Luciano] Spalletti has been phenomenal." "If you read Napoli's numbers at home, it becomes difficult to think you can win. [Piotr Zielinski](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/177782/Piotr-Zielinski) could have put the hosts in front just before the hour mark, when he received a neat pass from [Victor Osimhen](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/228296/Victor-Osimhen) on the edge of the box but his low shot -- although powerful -- narrowly missed the target. [Matias Vecino](http://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/145600/Matías-Vecino) earned [Lazio](/soccer/team?id=112) a 1-0 win over [Napoli](/soccer/team?id=114) in [Serie A](/soccer/league/_/name/ITA.1) on Friday, ending the runaway leaders' winning streak of eight games.

Lazio's first victory in Naples in almost eight years followed a high-intensity match at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona but with few concrete goalscoring ...

Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel then pulled off a stunning save to keep out a header from Kim Min-Jae on the rebound. Lazio went in front nine minutes later, during Napoli’s best period of the match. Lazio’s first victory in Naples in almost eight years followed a high-intensity match at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona but with few concrete goalscoring opportunities.

Matias Vecino's brilliant long-range strike earned Lazio a 1-0 win at Napoli on Friday as the runaway Serie A leaders lost for only the second time in the ...

It is only the fourth time in 25 Serie A this season that Napoli have failed to win. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa saw his drive from distance deflected just over for Napoli, who had won eight in a row and 19 of their last 20 in Serie A -- a run that began with a 2-1 victory away to Lazio in September. Naples (Italy) (AFP) – Matias Vecino's brilliant long-range strike earned Lazio a 1-0 win at Napoli on Friday as the runaway Serie A leaders lost for only the second time in the league this season.