Serie A: Lookman forces Conte into tactical sacrifices

Napoli coach Antinio Conte is losing sleep on how to stop Ademola Lookman during Sunday’s Serie A clash with Atalanta at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

The former Chelsea boss looks to detail a player on the Nigerian just like Arsenal did when Mikel Arteta policed him with Thomas Partey throughout their UEFA Champions League fixture that ended goalless at Gewess Stadium on September 19.

He warned that the Partenopei shouldn’t underrate the visitors but should be the other way around, being a compact team and the UEFA Europa League champions as he looks to make tactical sacrifices to curtail Lookman and his teammates.

“It was Matteo who gave me the idea to drop down if needed when under attack. Against Atalanta, Arsenal put Thomas Partey on Ademola Lookman to form a five-man line; sometimes Arsenal also brought Saka and Martinelli deep. There is an evolution; you attack in one way and defend in another. It’s not just about defenders, but the whole team working together to defend. I have really drummed the tactical issues into the players ahead of this game, and we’ll see what happens,” said the Italian gaffer as per Football Italia.

He continued, “This is a big danger because Atalanta are a strong team; they won the Europa League by ending Bayer Leverkusen’s season-long unbeaten record.

“They’ve been regulars in the Champions League for years, and every season has to be considered among the best sides. It’s all credit to the club and to Gian Piero Gasperini, a coach who also worked with me when I was a player at Juventus. When I was injured, I’d spend recovery time with his youth team.

“It is not possible for Napoli to underestimate this match. If anything, it could be Atalanta who underestimates us, seeing what happened last season. You all keep telling me it is an advantage not playing European games, but I warn you it is a disadvantage because we don’t have such a deep squad.

“I don’t know if I’d call it a Scudetto clash, but for both clubs the main target is to qualify for the Champions League. Atalanta can set the example for us, building year by year, even when selling big players.”

This season, Lookman, who finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings, has started six of his seven appearances for Atalanta across their 10 fixtures. He has netted four Serie A goals, which is tied for the seventh highest tally in the competition, whilst he also ranks joint second for Serie A assists, having created four goals for his teammates.