It’s been a while, but Hirving Lozano’s goal Tuesday night might just be the spark Chucky needs to earn his spot back in Napoli’s lineup.
Chucky Lozano hadn’t appeared for Gli Azzurri since Feb. 9, when came on for the final 14 minutes of a defeat to Lecce. Since Gennaro Gattuso took over on Dec. 10, Lozano had made just six appearances (one start) while not appearing in 10 matches before Tuesday.
Adding to the despair for El Tri fans after Chucky wasn’t chosen for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Barcelona or the Coppa Italia final against Juventus, Gattuso reportedly kicked Lozano out of training last week for being “apathetic,” “unwilling,” and showing a “lack of commitment.”
But while coaches may demand performance in training, one’s true mark is made during the 90 minutes of match action, and Chucky made his statement on Tuesday.
After 135 days without playing — much of that because of the coronavirus-enforced suspension in play — Lozano returned to the pitch as an 84th-minute sub on Tuesday against Hellas Verona. Moments later, he secured all three points for Napoli with a 90th-minute goal.
Lozano was able to get his head to a superb corner kick taken by Faouzi Ghoulam (who was close to scoring an olimpico) to make it 2-0.
Chucky Lozano Goal vs Hellas Verona
The goal was Lozano’s fourth since joining Napoli from PSV Eindhoven over the summer. His last goal came against AC Milan on Nov. 23, exactly seven months ago.
The win lifted Napoli to within four points of first-place Juventus, with the Naples side owning a match in hand.
But there was also a bit of luck for Napoli on Tuesday.
While the match was scoreless in the first half, Valerio Verre somehow chested a cross-shot from Davide Faraoni over the bar, a shocking missed opportunity for the home side.
Oof.
Chucky didn’t make the same mistake.
