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Napoli Snatch Upper Hand from Manchester City in Race for UEFA Champions League Last 16

Stewart Flaherty, November 23 2011,
Manchester City suffered a potentially crucial 2-1 loss to Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo last night.
The Manchester City coaching staff look on with concern as their team are beaten by Napoli.
The Manchester City coaching staff look on with concern as their team are beaten by Napoli.
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The win allowed Napoli to leapfrog City into the second qualification spot in Group A, and will see the Italian club go into the final Matchday with a one-point lead over the Citizens.

Edinson Cavani gave Napoli the lead with a near post header last night, before Mario Balotelli equalized for City before half-time. Cavani scored the winning goal early in the second half for Napoli, who now can guarantee their progress to the knockout stages if they win at Villarreal in Matchday six.

Napoli started well and were backed by a vociferous and partisan crowd. The atmosphere was stoked even further when Cavani gave Napoli a 17th minute lead by heading in an Ezequiel Lavezzi corner at the near post.

Cavani was lifted by his goal and began to exert his influence on the game, with Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik also causing City problems.

City equalized against the run of play with David Silva the creator in the 33rd minute. The Spanish midfielder dispossessed Salvatore Aronica before advancing towards the Napoli goal. Silva had a long range shot saved by Morgan De Sanctis, but Balotelli was on hand to turn home the rebound and send the teams into half-time level.

Napoli took only four minutes to retake the lead in the second half, when Cavani finished well from an Andrea Dossena cross.

The home side poured forward looking to finish off City, with Joe Hart saving well from Lavezzi and Christian Maggio, and Hamsik firing against the post.

City’s best chance to equalize came when Balotelli was played in behind the Napoli backline, only to be smothered by De Sanctis. Substitute Sergio Aguero also had a chance but fired wide late on as Napoli held on for an important three points.

A disappointed City manager Roberto Mancini spoke to BBC Sport after the game, and acknowledged that his team has surrendered the upper hand to the Italian club.

“Our target was to go into the second round stage and (now) we are depending on other teams,” said Mancini. The City boss also added that the chances of progressing into the last 16 after this game were “70% to Napoli, 30% to us.”

It will be a nervous final matchday for City fans on December 7th, knowing that their team must beat Group A winners Bayern Munich, and Villarreal must also take points off Napoli to extend City’s Champions League adventure.

LINEUPS

NAP – De Sanctis, Aronica, Dossena (Fernandez 89), Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Maggio, Hamsik, Gargano, Inler (Dzemaili 59), Cavani (Pandev 83), Lavezzi.

MAN C – Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta (Johnson 85), Lescott, Kolarov, Milner, Silva, De Jong (Nasri 70), Y Toure, Dzeko (Aguero 81), Balotelli.

SCORING SUMMARY

NAP - Edinson Cavani (Ezequiel Lavezzi) 17'
MAN C - Mario Balotelli (David Silva) 33'
NAP - Edinson Cavani (Andrea Dossena) 49'

LiveSoccerTV Man of the Match: Edinson Cavani (Napoli)

Attendance: 53,000

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