Napoli’s season is certainly disastrous, with many Azzurri having fallen exponentially. Among these, Di Lorenzo is also approached, but the blue captain is exonerated by two facts.
At the starting line this season, it was expected that the Naples could repeat – or at least come close to – what was done in the previous year, in which the scudetto arrived. Unfortunately, however, this was not the case, with the Azzurri disappointing from every point of view.
Among the players who have ended up in the vortex of criticism there is also Giovanni Di Lorenzo, accused of having collapsed compared to last season’s performance. By analyzing two data in particular, the Napoli captain is cleared of these accusations.
Di Lorenzo in difficulty: two facts exonerate the Napoli captain
This season, Napoli collapsed dramatically after winning the Scudetto, even though the team is 10/11 the same as last year. Several Italians had a dizzying collapse, to the point of making them seem unrecognizable. Among the most criticized Azzurri there is also the captain By Lorenzo. By examining the data from the 2022/2023 season with those from the current season, it can be seen how the performance of the blue captain has changed due to the decline of the team. Despite this, Di Lorenzo is cleared of the accusations thanks to two specific data, which we can see in the graph on the portal DATE.
Of the data that emerged in the DATAMB graph, which compares Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s performance in the 2022/2023 season with that of the 2023/2024 season:
- Defensive actions 2022/2023: 9.9
- Defensive actions 2023/2024: 25.5
- Defensive duels 2022/2023: 16.2%
- Defensive duels 2023/2024: 94.1%
- Progression with and without the ball 2022/2023: 32.0%
- Progression with and without the ball 2023/2024: 66.6%
- Assists expected 2022/2023: 72.8%
- Assists expected 2023/2024: 75.4%
The substantial difference between the past season and the current one is in the defensive actions and in defensive duels, which have increased exponentially this season. These two data demonstrate the difficulties of Di Lorenzo, who is forced to carry out more defensive actions compared to those of last season, which were practically very few. Another piece of data that highlights the strain Di Lorenzo is forced into is that of progressions with or without the ball, which have doubled compared to the previous year, and this creates greater energy expenditure. Despite a difficult season, Di Lorenzo sees his numbers increasing expected assists. Unfortunately, however, the incisiveness of Napoli’s attackers is far below last season’s numbers. Therefore these data exonerate the Napoli captain from the fierce criticism, given that the struggles are due to the greater exposure of the Azzurri to opposing attacks compared to last year.
