Fans thought Napoli would struggle. Now they're Europe's most exciting team

Milan, Oct 13, 2022 (AFP) - Napoli's stunning start to the season has left fans wondering just how far their flamboyant side can go as they prepare for Sunday's visit of Bologna after another memorable European night.

A capacity crowd of over 52,000 was at the Stadio Maradona on Wednesday to see Serie A's leading team beat Ajax 4-2 and seal a spot in the last 16 of the Champions League with two games to spare.

Luciano Spalletti's side crashed in 10 goals in two Group A fixtures with four-time European champions Ajax and looks like it has just about everything in place to make a deep run at home and abroad.

Napoli have scored an astonishing 39 times in 13 matches at home and abroad, with 17 of those coming in their four fixtures in a Champions League group which looked tricky when drawn in August.

Instead, they have found European football even more forgiving than domestic competition, where they have a two-point lead over Atalanta, despite Spalletti's claim that Wednesday's exciting win "showed you what Champions League football is all about."

"You get swept along by the atmosphere on nights like this. At one point, I felt dizzy and thought I could see stars around my head," Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia.

Napoli's unbeaten start to season and their run of nine straight wins took almost everybody by surprise as they appeared to be a club in deep turmoil over the summer.

Fans were livid after seeing some of their most important players - including Kalidou Koulibaly and captain Lorenzo Insigne - leave and around 5,000 season tickets were sold leading up to current campaign.

Turnaround

Owner Aurelio De Laurentiis was implored to sell the club, while Spalletti was order to "wake up" by an angry supporter during a summer training camp event organized to present the team.

However, almost every new signing has slotted in perfectly, with Giacomo Raspadori, Kim Min-Jae, and, in particular, wing wizard Khvicha Kvaratskhelia quickly becoming key players in possibly Europe's most exciting team.

Another positive note heading into Sunday's match was the return from injury of Victor Osimhen, who had been out since the first half of the hammering of Liverpool which kicked off their European campaign in such great style.

Osimhen was like an angry dog let off his lead on Wednesday, haranguing and constantly getting in behind the Ajax defenders before finally netting in stoppage time.

That desire to show his worth can only have come from the fact that Napoli have barely skipped a beat since the Nigerian forward succumbed to a thigh injury.

Raspadori has hit the ground running, scoring five times for his new club, while Giovanni Simeone seems content to fill the super-sub role with four strikes of his own since arriving from Verona.

The only real problem facing Spalletti is the condition of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Amir Rrahmani.

Anguissa had to leave the field with a thigh problem on Wednesday and tests on Friday should reveal how long the Cameroon midfielder will be sidelined.

Rrahmani is the bigger issue as the Kosovo captain is going to be out for around three weeks, and Juan Jesus proved a shaky replacement against Ajax.

Spalletti will also have to deal with the expectations of a success-starved fan base and questions over his ability to stop Napoli tailing off at the end of the season, a problem which has afflicted his managerial career.

"They can demand all they want," said Spalletti to Amazon Prime. "I put enough pressure on myself, I put more on myself than you can put on me."

Fixtures

Saturday

• Empoli vs. Monza
• Torino vs. Juventus
• Atalanta vs. Sassuolo

Sunday

• Inter vs. Salernitana
• Lazio vs. Udinese
• Spezia vs. Cremonese
• Napoli vs. Bologna
• Verona vs. AC Milan

Monday

• Sampdoria vs. Roma
• Lecce vs. Fiorentina