Wednesday night saw Napoli once again falter in the Champions League as they lost 2-0 to Benfica at the Estadio da Luz. Jose Mourinho's side were much the better of the two teams and deservedly claimed three points with goals from Richard Rios and Leandro Barreiro on either side of half-time.
In what was Gli Azzuri's third defeat in six matchdays, it was clear that midfield frailty, and to a degree, imbalance, hindered Antonio Conte's squad.
Despite Mourinho's sly pre-match comment claiming, "if you look at who's playing, you forget who's missing" , Napoli's absentees in the middle of the park felt exhaustive under the lights in Lisbon.
To recap, Antonio Conte has had to deal with four major blows to his tactical system. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (muscular discomfort), Billy Gilmour (groin), and Kevin De Bruyne (thigh) are all out until at least January, while Stanislav Lobotka (also thigh) could return for late December.
While the recent injury issues have yet to fully unravel a Serie A campaign that sees Napoli joint-top with Milan after 14 matches, Conte's group came undone against a determined and free-flowing Benfica. One of the main reasons for this, was the relative mismatch of Scott McTominay and Eljif Elmas (naturally a left-winger) in central midfield.
From the hosts' first real chance in the 12th minute, with Franjo Ivanovic forcing a save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, this opportunity came with a cutting ball right through the centre in transition. Right away, this highlighted a fragility of having two offensive-minded players in central midfield.
Such was this acute lack of confidence in front of their own goal, Benfica's first goal was partly down to a nervy McTominay. When a smart ball was clipped into the box, the Scot was bullied by Ivanovic before inadvertently directing a flick towards Rios to poke home in the 20th minute.
Just before the break, self-belief had clearly taken a hit, with McTominay struggling at the other end. Noa Lang 's cross was well-pitched, yet the number eight couldn't head on target. In fact, his attempt was well-high and wide as he clattered into teammate Mathias Olivera.
In the second half, the absence of midfield grit was highlighted further with Benfica's second goal. Napoli looked stretched less than four minutes after the interval began as a right-sided move swept infield. The men in the middle struggled to cover the gaps in defence and were ultimately punished as Barreiro flicked in a great, low Rios delivery at the right post.
Conte will have to have a serious think about his options ahead of a clash away to Udinese this weekend to avoid another poor showing like this. His side's ineffective midfield presence unfortunately influenced their own creation. The visitors played beneath a 0.64 xG, while only creating one 'big chance' ( as per FotMob ).
