Real Madrid marched to Napoli’s Diego Maradona Stadium with concerns about the defense without both Militao and Alaba. Coach Carlo Ancelotti decided to let Nacho partner with Antonio Rudiger in the center of defense.
Jude Bellingham plays in defense behind Vinicius and Rodrygo. Napoli also fielded an attack-oriented lineup with Kvaratskhelia and Mateo Politano playing on the wings to support Victor Osimhen, while three familiar midfielders Zielinski, Anguissa, and Lobotka started.
Playing away, Real Madrid had the first dangerous opportunity but Rodrygo was blocked by Meret in the 6th minute before Tchouameni headed over the crossbar 5 minutes later. Napoli’s sharpness in attack was concretized in the 19th minute.
Goalkeeper Kepa jumped up and missed the ball and although Natan’s header hit the crossbar, his center-back partner Ostigard was there to score a header to open the score for the Italian representative.
Vinicius equalized for Real Madrid in the 27th minute
However, errors in defense prevented Napoli from preserving their advantage. In the 27th minute, Di Lorenzo failed a pass right near the penalty area and Bellingham stole it and made a breakthrough before assisting Vinicius to equalize 1-1 for Real Madrid.
7 minutes later Bellingham dribbled the ball from midfield and accurately shot into the far corner, giving Real Madrid a 2-1 lead. Once again, the English star left his mark and proved his importance to the Bernabeu team.
At the beginning of the second half, Napoli continued to punish the mistakes of Real Madrid’s defense when Real Madrid’s Nacho let the ball touch his hand in a situation where he was trying to prevent Osimhen from passing. Napoli was awarded a penalty and Zielinski equalized 2-2 even though Kepa guessed the right direction.
Real Madrid’s bravery was shown in the 78th minute. Valverde gave the away team the lead after a beautiful long-range shot. The ball bounced off the crossbar and then hit goalkeeper Meret and flew into the net, to Napoli’s regret.
Napoli rushed to attack in the last 10 minutes, but they could not create any more significant opportunities and accepted a 2-3 loss. Real Madrid took the top spot in Group C with 6 points after 2 matches while Napoli dropped to 3rd place. In the match at the same time, Braga beat Union Berlin 3-2 to move up to second in the group.
Squad
Napoli : Meret, Olivera, Natan, Ostigard, Di Lorenzo, Zielinski, Lobotka, Anguissa, Kvaratskhelia, Politano, Osimhen.
Goals: Ostigard (19′), Zielinski (pen 54′)
Real Madrid : Kepa, Camavinga, Nacho, Rudiger, Carvajal, Kroos, Tchouameni, Valverde, Bellingham, Vinicius, Rodrygo.
Goals: Vinicius (27′), Bellingham (34′), Meret (own goal 78′)
Real Madrid had an impressive 3-2 victory at Napoli’s field in the second match of Group C of the UEFA Champions League. Vinicius and Bellingham shined in the victory of coach Ancelotti’s team.
