Player Analysis: Nedim Bajrami

After winning the Coppa Italia in 2019/20, Napoli failed to defend its title in the following season as Atalanta had eliminated the Partenopei in the semi-finals. It must be said though, that title defense could have ended as early as the Round of 16 if it wasn’t for a lucky escape against Empoli.

The Tuscan club would eventually be crowned the Serie B champions at the end of the 2020/21 season but Empoli nearly gave Napoli a fright in its 3-2 defeat to the Serie A side in the Coppa Italia.

Both goals for the Tuscans came from a Swiss-born Albanian midfielder named Nedim Bajrami. Operating behind strikers Ryder Matos and Marco Olivieri, Bajrami scored two goals of exceptional quality, and it seemed that his strikes could have been the foundations for a shock victory but Andrea Petagna eventually won it for the Neapolitans.

Bajrami played a crucial part in Empoli earning promotion from Serie B, and he has been a key player for the Empolesi in Serie A, scoring six goals and supplying three assists in 27 matches so far in 2021/22.