Champions League preview: Naples prepares for Manchester City: Three major revelations of Manchester City derby, which may help Conte score points!

Naples will undoubtedly closely study the just-concluded Manchester derby, at least before the first Champions League match against Manchester City, and be prepared by watching this game. Naples, under Conte, is trying to accomplish what Manchester United failed to do - taking away the victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester United was defeated 3-0 by Manchester City led by Guardiola, with Phil Foden and Haaland scoring a three-pointer for Manchester City; Italian goalkeeper Donaluma completed a clean sheet in his debut. However, despite the huge score difference, Manchester City's performance did not show absolute convincing power. They used their opponent's loopholes to lock in this seemingly unsurprising victory through counterattacks.

So, what experience can Naples draw from this game?

1. Manchester City's "ruling era" has gradually come to an end.

If Manchester City only won the third place in the Premier League last season (the worst ranking since the 2016-17 season) is not enough to explain the problem. Then Manchester City is now completely different from the "Blue Moon" that has won "seven-year and six championships" from the 2017-18 to 2023-24 season.

At that time, Manchester City was full of top players at the peak of their careers: De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker, Sterling, David Silva and Sergio Aguero, who left countless wonderful memories for Manchester City fans.

Today's Manchester City is not a weak team, and there are still many world-class players in the team - such as the No. 9 striker Haaland, who scored twice in this game and had an amazing efficiency. But this Manchester City is no longer the "invincible giant" of the past, but is more like a "challengable and breakthrough" opponent.

Guardiola's team has lost two times this season, losing to Brighton and Tottenham respectively. Even today, Manchester City has been in a passive position many times when they are in a sluggish state and have not yet found the rhythm of the game. Manchester United actually created many excellent opportunities in this game, but in the end, due to lack of finishing ability, Donnarumma was able to score a penalty in his debut.

If Napoli can play well at its own pace and attack decisively by seizing Manchester City's inattention, it is definitely not impossible to return to Napoli from Manchester with at least 1 point.

2. Counterattack becomes Manchester City's biggest threat - Can Naples "return his body to the other person with his own way"?

In the past, Manchester City's key to winning was "suppressing the opponent and controlling the ball", but now the team's tactical thinking has changed significantly.

In this game, Manchester United's possession rate was higher - although this was to a certain extent due to the "game situation": Manchester United pushed up heavily in the second half, and Manchester City chose to shrink their defense. But such a scene has been extremely rare in Guardiola's team over the past decade.

However, Manchester City's threat lies in that they no longer rely on ball possession, but instead look for Manchester United's loopholes through quick counterattacks. Especially after Phil Foden broke the deadlock for Manchester City in the 18th minute, Guardiola's team further contracted their defense and allowed the opponent to press the attack.

With wing players like Geremia Doku (contributes two assists in this game and is in excellent condition), Manchester City has a number of core forces that "can complete offensive and defensive conversions at extremely fast speed."

Naples needs to be vigilant when attacking the risk of "pressing too many people". Perhaps the strategy of "let Manchester City control more possession and then counterattack to fight back" will be more effective. Especially Rasmus Hoylen of Napoli's forward, the Danish striker is good at inserting behind the defense and passing the ball directly to complete the attack. He not only has outstanding speed, but also has experience in playing against Manchester City.

3. Manchester City has shortcomings in its lineup depth. Napoli has gained the lead in preparing for the game for one day. At present, Manchester City has many core players absent due to injuries. Stones and Kovacic are still plagued by minor injuries. Although they are expected to return soon, it is still unknown whether Stones can catch up with the Champions League, and Kovacic will have to wait until October to return.

In addition, new players Rayan Ait-Nuri and Rayan Serki will not return until the end of October this summer; Egyptian striker Omar Marmush was affected by a knee injury and is expected to return to the field in the next few weeks.

Although Manchester City's nine-man substitute list today is not bad, it lacks "the key firepower that can change the direction of the game." Guardiola sent Nico Gonzalez, Savigno, Oscar Bob and Nathan Acker in this game - although these players are talented, they rarely "find" at critical moments. James Trafford, Mattus Nunes, Rico Lewis, Stephen Mfulney and Divain Mukasa sat on the bench throughout the whole game. When Manchester City fell into a situation where "need to chase points", these players were embarrassed.

In contrast, after Napoli defeated Fiorentina 3-1, they recovered and prepared for the Champions League one day more than Manchester City. When Manchester City just experienced a fierce Manchester City derby and was about to face Conte's team at home, Napoli could completely take advantage of their physical strength to add more variables to the situation of the game. The suspense of the Champions League is often hidden in the details of "Can we grasp the opponent's flaws" - and the Manchester City Derby has handed Naples a "key to open the door to Etihad's victory."