Napoli 6:2 Aris Thessaloniki in Club Friendly
Napoli beat Aris Thessaloniki 6:2 in a club friendly on Tuesday evening at the San Paolo. The hosts were busy in the second half, scoring four goals after the interval while Aris managed two responses of their own. By then the gap was already wide enough to make the rest of the evening feel like a training exercise.
Rrahmani opened the scoring in the 19th minute, catching the visitors flat-footed on a quick break. Racic equalised for Aris just before the hour mark, showing the visitors could compete if they stayed compact. McTominay restored the lead three minutes later, and here's the thing — Napoli threw their substitutes on immediately at the break.
The second half started with a flood of changes. Napoli brought on Meret, Gilmour and Alisson Santos, while Aris made one substitution of their own. McTominay struck again straight after the restart, and De Bruyne added a fourth in the 58th minute. The home side ran the show from that point.
Lucca pulled one back for Aris in the 64th minute, but Racic doubled his tally five minutes later to keep the visitors in the conversation. Napoli then turned the screws, bringing on Spinazzola, Politano and Hojlund together in the 59th minute. Di Lorenzo and Rrahmani came off in the 70th minute, and Vergara replaced someone in the 73rd.
The final goal came in the 89th minute, though the scorer was not recorded in the data supplied. Possession sat at 50-50 for both sides, but Napoli registered 57 attacks to Aris's 80. The home side won 5 corners to 1, a pattern that suggests Aris spent more time chasing the ball than controlling it.
Napoli's recent form has been mixed — a 1:1 draw with Celta and a 2:1 win over Osasuna sit alongside a 1:3 defeat to Arezzo. Aris arrived with better results, including a 3:1 victory over Monza and two wins against OFI Crete. This friendly gives the manager a chance to test combinations without worrying about the table.