Napoli Vs Lazio [1-1] Serie A 2026/2027: How Gennaro Gattuso's Midfielders Drive His Attacking Play - Tactical Analysis

Napoli hosted Lazio at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for their gameweek 11 fixture in Serie A.

The clash ended with a 1-1 draw.

For Lazio, it can be considered positive partly because it was an away game, even though it didn't help their bid to put space between themselves and Inter Milan or AS Roma in the title race.

Though Lazio are still at the top of the standings with 29 points, they are now only one point ahead of Inter Milan and two ahead of Roma.

This puts more pressure on Lazio, as any upcoming negative result will see them lose their lead, especially since both Inter Milan and Roma have been very consistent in getting positive results so far and are seriously striving to take the lead from Lazio.

That said, being top of the standings after 11 fixtures is a big surprise, given that Gennaro Gattuso and his players achieved it despite limited squad depth and various problems surrounding the club.

Even if Lazio fail to hold their top spot, finishing in the top four will be a huge achievement in itself, showing they can still compete at the very top of the league.

For Napoli, the team has been going through a very disappointing period lately, both locally and in the UEFA Champions League, as they have struggled to achieve consistent positive results, which has impacted the team negatively.

Although a draw against Lazio does not help Napoli much, keeping them in 10th place, it can still be seen as a positive reaction from the players, as they avoided a loss to the leaders.

However, these results will not be enough in the long run, as Massimiliano Allegri will need to find quick solutions to get his team back to winning ways.

In this tactical analysis, we focus on Lazio’s attacking style and their recurring reliance on midfield players in the attacking phase, whether for playmaking, penetration, or finishing.

Napoli Vs Lazio Lineups & Formations

Napoli Lineup Vs Lazio

Allegri relied on a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Vanja Milinković-Savić in goal and a back three of Sam Beukema, Amir Rrahmani, and Rafa Marín from right to left.

In midfield, he used Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay centrally, with Antonio Vergara and Mathías Olivera as wing-backs.

For the attacking line, Allegri preferred to rely on both Noa Lang and Kevin De Bruyne as wide playmakers/second strikers in support of Rasmus Højlund,

Lazio Lineup Vs Napoli

Gattuso used a 4-3-3 formation, with Christos Mandas as goalkeeper and a back line of Josip Šutalo and Oliver Provstgaard as centre-backs, Romano Floriani at right-back, and Nuno Tavares at left-back.

The midfield featured Reda Belahyane as the defensive midfielder, with Kenneth Taylor and Davide Frattesi as the right and left midfielders.

In attack, Gustav Isaksen played right wing, while Tijjani Noslin supported the main striker, Andrea Pinamonti, on the left.

Lazio Immediate High-Pressing Plan

Lazio started the match with intensity, using a man-marking system and an aggressive high press that could have helped them score early.

Lazio tried to capitalise on Napoli’s poor run of form and the difficult period they have been going through in both Serie A and the UEFA Champions League by planning to surprise them with an intense high-press approach designed to push Napoli into errors in their initial build-up from the back.

The following clip highlights this positive and intelligent Lazio approach from the first minute, as they hoped to surprise Napoli with an early goal that would complicate Napoli’s situation and give Gattuso’s men a psychological advantage.

The tight, disciplined man-marking approach paid off for Lazio, who applied it with extra intensity as soon as Napoli resorted to backward passes.

Whenever Napoli resorted to those passes, Lazio immediately pressed high and aggressively, preventing the ball holder from finding an easy solution and putting the receiver at risk of losing the ball.

Since Napoli were not yet accustomed to Lazio's intense approach at the start of the match, they still tried to play short passes out from the back.

In this action, Marín risked making his team pay the price for that short-passing decision, as Isaksen intercepted the pass and quickly played a one-two with Pinamonti.

Unfortunately for Lazio, Isaksen’s surprising curved shot went inches wide.