Well I don't buy into that so much to be honest. We managed a few wins over Italiano's Fiorentina as well.

The mindset was completely wrong. We started like Fiorentina was a test team for Tottenham and like we had to defend a lead. We never ever managed to find a way out of this. Pioli just gave up and never bothered to change anything up until it was too late.

CDK is jackshit and he can be traded to the next hype team IMO. What a fragile little creature...

Yep, that's why I'm indifferent to this one. We did not deserve to win. Fiorentina played better. We struggle when teams do this to us. And as I've repeated twice now already, Italiano has done this to us 3 seasons running now when he's playing on home turf only that is.

I sort of came into this game expecting dropped points with Rafa and Brahim out tbh. There is a reason why we still play with Brahim even when he's not our player and CDK is. CDK just does not offer the energy Brahim does. Against Atalanta, him, Giroud and Rafa were constantly linking up and going through the Atalanta defence. Today it literally felt like we had 9 men on that pitch. It really hurt our game. Add to that Bennacer still not looking 100% and it was always going to be a tough night. Especially against a Fiorentina energised by the Astori factor

Just take it on the chin and move on.


I'm much more confident for Wednesday tbh. Because we all know how Spurs will play with Conte there. They're a counter attacking side but they're going to have to attack us, they're not going to be comfortable doing that. We'll have Rafa back and hopefully Brahim as well. And Benna should be further along in terms of match fitness.

Tomori and Kalulu today were both disappointin. They were having trouble with how aggressive both Ikone and Gonzalez are (would take either one in a heart beat next summer btw). And Messias and Theo weren't making things any easier on them either

Yep, all when we were at home though. We lost to him away last season and the one before it when he was at Spezia. This is the 3rd season running where we lost away to an Italiano side.

The absences in attack hurt us a lot imo. Rebic seems done. Don't know what happened to him but he just looks like a shadow of the player he was just a year ago.

As for CDK, he's struggling no doubt about that. And he's obviously not being played in positions that he can excel in imo. He's too central and too deep. He's clearly a talented kid, the player that was playing for Brugge in the CL last season is in there somewhere. We just need to be patient.

It has nothing to do with how he's been played. The guy has zero confidence and stumbles upon his feet. It's embarrassing to watch him play.

Agreed

This forgotten already?

See what I mean about inconsistent and emotional fan media? I'm not having a go, sorry if it seems like I am - I am also guilty of being fickle.

As for this match and this season...

For what it's worth, this has been the worst Serie A has been in living memory. A solid but not incredible Napoli are humiliatingly better than the rest, that they can even afford to lose a stinker to Lazio and still be miles ahead.

I have never seen all of Italy's best teams as poor as they are this campaign - Inter, us, Juve, Roma, Ata and Lazio all absolutely terrible - Napoli have absolutely seized upon it.

This is this stuff that sees this league as the worst of the big five, and dangerously teetering into being among the Hollands and Portugals.

Yet Italian teams made good results on all european fronts.

Wow, you baffled me for a moment. But looking at the table, we are now in 5th position with Atalanta being 5 points away. How are you so sure we'll manage to surpass Inter, Lazio or Roma?

Prioritising Europe maybe this season?

Krunic is a massive liability.

Our players can't score to save themselves. Spurs barely had two shots on target. We had so many chances to close this tie, and we wasted each and everyone of them. Tonight it was easy cos Spurs are shite, but this is going to bite us back in the @ss when we start encountering the Bayern Munich's of this world. You simply cannot be so imprecise in front of goal.

Anyway, CL quarter finals after 11 years. What a great feeling. We've got Chelsea, Bayern and Benfica as possible opponents so far, and quite definitely Napoli and Madrid as well.

Exaggerate much?


Come on Danny!

Serie A is imo at it's best it's been in years. Do you think it was better when Juve were making a mockery of it? Napoli have taken advantage of inconsistencies shown by the other top sides. I'll give you that. I think the World Cup break factors a lot into this. We came back in January cooked. That is our season right there. Inter were bad at the start but have improved.

For us, it's obvious we have big weaknesses, especially when you look beyond the first 11. Hopefully we sort out the obvious issues we have with the squad in the summer. But overall, I think the quality in the league has improved. Certainly among the top 6 sides, when comparing to the dark days of the Juve reign that is.


We'll make the CL next year. Roma and Lazio are just too inconsistent. The game against Fiorentina should be a blip. The Spurs game was obviously weighing and looming. We looked like we couldn't be bothered there.

Anyway. Let's celebrate going through


I feel worried because I don't think we were ever really tested. So considering who we could draw out of that hat in a week's time puts me on edge. Hoping we at least manage to avoid the likes of Bayern, City, Real for now

Agreed

We barely gave them a look in over 180 minutes of football.

But yeah, the wastefulness in front of goal is seriously worrying. We're creating beautiful chances through counters and wasting them. We did the same against Atalanta and last Saturday as well against Fiorentina Theo should have scored when he was clear through

Cannot do this against the top sides.

The defense gives me hope though

Yes, when he plays like shite I will call him out. You don't get a free pass simply because you played some good games in the latter part of last season.

What about tonight? Against such a poor Spurs side he was barely incisive. He should be eating these kind of games for breakfast, yet he's struggling too much.



Napoli play the best football in Europe, period. They can defeat any side. There was no way to compete against them this season.

They'll go through in the CL, we're through, and probably Inter will go through as well. When was the last time Serie A had 2/3 teams in the quarter finals?

In the meanwhile the French league which you labeled as strong has zero teams. That speaks volumes.

I agree completely. I was skeptical at best about your backing him, because, unfortunately, he doesn't suit us or the league. That's all.



Nope, they're just not as good as that. They 'should' make the quarters and their UCL adventure will stop there. If I am wrong I will hold my hands up.



Don't count your chickens. Don't use a hypthetical argument till it's fact.



I don't label it as 'strong' in itself - while there's a big five, it's not as clear cut as it was even 5 years ago. England is by far the strongest, and Germany and Spain are up next. France tonked Italy last season, and this season Italy is doing it back.

I'll be very interested to see how Inter and Napoli fare next week.