Manchester City vs. Napoli
The sub-plots to Tuesday evening's tantalising Champions League clash
16 October 2017
We could be in for a feast of goals at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night as two of Europe’s form teams go head to head in the Champions League.
With a staggering 55 goals between them in eight league games, Manchester City and Napoli are arguably playing some of the most attractive football on the continent at the moment.
Maurizio Sarri’s side boast an impressive 100% record in the league following their 1-0 win at Roma on Saturday, but lost their opening Champions League fixture away to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Meanwhile, the only blot on City’s near-impeccable copy book is the 1-1 draw with Everton back in August. Since then, the Blues have swept aside all before them, with the recent 7-2 demolition of Stoke a fierce warning to all challengers.
Benchmark
This is a clash that will go a long way in deciding who finishes top of Group F, but, for the hosts, it is a fixture of slightly more significance. The Neapolitan outfit were the first side to visit City in the Champions League back in September 2011 as both sides played out a 1-1 draw.
The Blues, back at the top table of European football for the first time since 1968, were making statements of intent following their FA Cup triumph and the arrival of world class talent in the shape of Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure.
City eventually went out in the group stage, despite amassing ten points, and that debut campaign in the Champions League under Roberto Mancini was set to be used as a foundation on which to build unbridled success.
However, the Blues have only made it past the last-16 once when they reached the 2015/16 semi-finals under Manuel Pellegrini in the Chilean’s last season in charge.
Defensive frailties under Pep Guardiola were brutally exposed by an explosive Monaco side last season as the French champions sensationally overturned a 5-3 deficit to set-up a quarter-final tie with Borussia Dortmund.
With over £200m lavishly spent this summer, is now the time for City to finally make a consistent impact at the highest level of domestic football?
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Tuesday evening’s game against Napoli will be an interesting barometer to see just how far the blue half of Manchester have come in the six years since their first meeting with the Azzurri, who themselves have failed to make any real progress.
Battle of the Belgians
While City can call upon the inspirational Kevin De Bruyne, the Neapolitans also have a Belgian maestro as their trump card. Dries Mertens, signed from PSV Eindhoven in 2013, has plundered nine goals in all competitions this campaign and has formed a lethal partnership with Jose Callejon and Lorenzo Insigne.
When the Champions League draw was made back in August, Mertens Tweeted De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany with a bit of friendly rivalry, which, naturally, went viral. No doubt this will have added fuel to an already roaring fire.
Pundits and journalists alike are beginning to run out of superlatives for De Bruyne, who has recorded more assists (32) than any other Premier League player since his City debut in 2015. His array of passing is a joy to behold and, at the moment, the midfielder has to be considered as one of the top five players in world football.
Both players are on the Ballon d’Or shortlist and, while they may not win football’s ultimate accolade, their current domestic form will see them hard pressed not to be crowned Player of the Season in their respective leagues.
Broken records
It has been well documented that Aguero is just one goal away from drawing level with Eric Brook at the top of City’s all-time scorers list. The Argentinean ace could have equalled the record against Shakhtar in the Blues’ last European outing, but saw his tame penalty saved by Andriy Pyatov.
However, what hasn’t reached these shores is that Napoli stalwart Marek Hamsik needs one more goal to equal the Azzurri’s all-time scoring record, set by a certain Diego Maradona.
City fans will be hoping that the Slovakian has to wait until the weekend’s top of the table clash with Inter Milan before he completes the feat unless, as has been the case in the last three home matches, they are already five goals to the good.
Regardless, Tuesday’s encounter is set to be a mouth-watering affair and certainly not one to be missed.
