Napoli waste 15 shots to beat Bologna 1-0

The 10-0 corner count tells the story better than the final score. Napoli closed out the game against Bologna with 15 shots to five and 58% possession, but the scoreboard still read 1-0. The gap between what Napoli built and what they turned into goals is the first thing worth pausing on, now the dust has settled.

Credit is also due at the other end. Bologna's goalkeeper, Pessina, made three saves and kept his side in the game until the final whistle, despite winning zero corners all match. It is a detail that tempers the idea of a one-sided game: one-sided in terms of possession and pressure, far less so in terms of clear-cut chances created.

Bologna had already threatened the Maradona in the 8th minute, when a Theate goal was ruled out — a warning that could have made for a difficult evening. From there, Napoli's defence gave up nothing else like it, and Amondarain's booking in the 31st minute was the only other moment of note from the visitors in the first half. It is one of the things that worked on Sunday 13 September: after that early scare, Milinkovic-Savic's goal was never seriously threatened again.

Napoli sit on six points from four league games, in 10th place, well off their stated targets. The win does not transform the table, but it does show that with their first-choice attack, Napoli are struggling to close out matches they dominate. The test to find out whether that is a limitation of the starting eleven or just an off night comes in seven days, at Fiorentina — a side Napoli will need to face with more cynicism in front of goal than they showed on Sunday.