(Football news) The teams get together in Al-Awwal Stadium in Riyadh. In the Supercoppa’s first-ever semi-final tie, new-look Napoli defeated last season’s Coppa Italia runners-up Fiorentina on Thursday after switching from their Scudetto-winning 4-3-3 formation to Walter Mazzarri’s preferred three-man defense. Inter wants to win three straight Super Cups, while their opponents are only looking for their third victory overall.
Giovanni Simeone gave Mazzarri’s team the lead halfway through the first half, capitalizing on a rare start in Victor Osimhen’s absence. Substitute Alessio Zerbin then added two more goals late in the game to put the cherry on top and condemn their Tuscan rivals to defeat.
As a result, the Partenopei are now 90 minutes from lifting the trophy traditionally decided between Italy’s league champions and cup winners for just a third time in their whole history – the last victory coming 10 years ago.
Napoli earned their place in this term’s expanded format by finally ending a 33-year Scudetto drought last spring, but their title defence has recently gone off the rails, and they arrived in Saudi Arabia trailing far behind Serie A’s leading duo, Inter and Juventus.
Having kicked off 2024 by losing for the fourth time in six league matches – enduring a painful 3-0 defeat to mid-table Torino – a last-gasp win over regional rivals Salernitana then left them eighth in the table, five points shy of fourth-placed Fiorentina.
Champions League qualification may still be within range for the Campanian club – and they are also involved in the knockout phase of this season’s competition, where Barcelona await in the last 16 – but a significant shift in momentum is needed.
Securing some silverware by posting their third straight win would certainly provide a shot in the arm ahead of a crucial league clash with Lazio, who were vanquished by Inter in Friday’s second semi-final.
