Roberto D’Aversa had the merit of starting the championship with a bang. With him on the bench, Lecce had the best start in their history in Serie A, with 11 points in the first 5 matchdays, the result of 3 victories against Lazio, Salernitana and Genoa and two draws against Fiorentina and Monza.
The defect? Away games
Unfortunately, however, D’Aversa’s Lecce almost never managed to express themselves away from Salento like at Via Del Mare. To tell the truth, he often collected too little compared to what he produced but the main flaw has always concerned the continuity of performance during the match. That team produced a portion of the game at a high level and in the other, instead, they nullified all the work done, drawing or losing due to individual errors.
The away match in Genoa at the end of January best represents what we are telling you: excellent start, advantage with even a penalty missed by Krstovic and many opportunities, in the first 60 minutes of the game, to double the lead and close the match. Then, at a certain point, a collective blackout, a few too many errors and the home team’s comeback, able to exploit the carelessness of the Giallorossi rearguard. We could describe many others like that match and Lecce, with Roberto D’Aversa on the bench, only won 6 points away from home in the 14 matches played.
The gear change
The arrival of Luca Gotti it allowed the Salento club to be more balanced on the pitch and to obtain precious points also in away. In the 4 matches played by the Giallorossi away from home with the Venetian coach on the bench, they achieved 7 points, with the two victories against Salernitana and Sassuolo and the draw against Cagliari. Only one defeat, however, to be recorded away from Via Del Mare, the much discussed one against Pioli’s Milan.
Now Napoli, the last away match to improve an away performance that has already undergone a major change of pace. Lecce has historically built its salvation in this way: Via Del Mare transformed into a fort and some unexpected successes away from home.
