Troise says Lucca is struggling and must score to save his season

Match analyst Francesco Troise sums up the striker's 116 minutes in a single missed ball, then sets out how Napoli can beat Roma at the Maradona on Saturday 24 October: go direct to Højlund, win the duels and build around Anguissa and McTominay.

by Gennaro SanninoThursday 22 October, 17:22 CET· 6 hours ago

Troise: «Lucca è in estrema difficoltà, deve segnare un gol». E per battere la Roma chiede coraggio nell'uno contro uno — Grafica Arena Napoli

A ball rolled across the edge of the penalty spot, towards his right foot, and Lucca missed it completely. Francesco Troise, a match analyst, uses that one moment to sum up where the striker stands.

"The 116 minutes he had to use to prove he is good enough for Napoli come down to a single moment," Troise says. He sees the problem as mental before it is technical: "The lad kept stopping to look for the perfect contact on the ball in the box, the perfect decisive touch, and instead on that occasion he missed the ball entirely."

The diagnosis is harsh. His conclusion is less so. "Right now he is in extreme difficulty, and to change his season he has to work hard and score a goal. Only that would turn his season around."

Then comes the line that has divided Naples: "Napoli need a striker with Lucca's characteristics." That is the paradox. Napoli need that profile, the one player who has it is not convincing, and the club is open to letting him leave as early as January, most likely on loan. If the profile really is needed, the people who built the squad should explain why the only player who has it is now seen as expendable.

Roma take the space away, so Napoli must win it back

Troise starts with a word Allegri has already used: fragility. "Defensive fragility is Napoli's problem, as Allegri also said, along with not controlling the game," he says. He adds that the side is "still looking for the perfect system".

After seven rounds Napoli are ninth on 10 points, and the fragility shows in the numbers. Against Bodø/Glimt they went ahead three times and were pegged back three times, the last with Fet's goal in the 90th minute. In Venice they had 29 shots and failed to score. If the side is still searching for a shape in October, that is down to the coach, not the fixture list.

According to Troise, Roma "compress the build-up zone" of every opponent, then speed up play and close the gaps. His answer is to go direct, "from the goalkeeper to Hojlund", or to build quickly through the midfielders and defenders. That raises an awkward point. Putting everything into balls up to a striker who has not scored since Saturday 5 September is a gamble, not a safe plan. Troise ties it to the individual battles:

"The players capable of winning the duels are there, and only that way will space open up. If Napoli don't win the technical duels, confidence will drain away."

For Troise, two players change the balance of the side: "Getting Anguissa and McTominay back is fundamental." The Scot has been fit to play since 8 October after surgery for an arrhythmia, and he scored twice against Bodø/Glimt. Troise singles out Anguissa's ball-winning, and it is hard to disagree. But the man he calls indispensable is out of contract in June 2027 and talks over a new deal have stalled. He wants around €6m and the offer is €3.6m.

At the back, Rrahmani is carrying fatigue and Buongiorno is out for a long spell after knee surgery on his meniscus.

Roma arrive third on 17 points, seven more than Napoli. They are without Koné and Pellegrini, Malen is fit again and Dybala is a doubt. Kick-off at the Maradona is at 18:00 CET (17:00 UK, 12:00 ET) on Saturday 24 October. It is the second of the tests the club has tied Allegri's future to.

If Roma win the duels, the story changes, and not only for Lucca.