06 February 2023
It has been an eventful 2023 for Salernitana, especially for coach Davide Nicola.
On January 15 the Granata were thumped 8-2 by Atalanta, prompting the club to relieve Nicola of his duties. However, the Turin-born coach was quickly reinstated and by January 18 was back at work, expressing his desire to continue as Salernitana coach in an emotional post on socia media.
Let's take a look at how the team from Salerno's form before and after the watershed moment.
THE SEASON SO FAR...
The defeat at Atalanta was the sixth game without success in Serie A, a run that had seen them slip from ninth place in the standings to 16th - albeit still with a considerable advantage over the three teams in the relegation zone.
The following weekend Salernitana lost again, in the regional derby with Napoli.
Then, after a seven-game winless run in the league, which included five defeats, Salernitana won their most recent game, against Lecce.
The victory allowed the Granata to reach 21 points in Serie A, beating the club record that had stood since 1947/48 after the first 20 matchdays in the top flight considering three points for a win.
What's more, Salernitana have also surpassed the record for goals scored at this point of the season, 25 in 2022/23 compared to 21 in 1947/48.
At home Salernitana have alternated between a draw and a defeat in their last four Serie A home games, most recently losing 2-0 to Napoli. The club from Campania last won at home against Spezia on 22 October.
The game's only goal was scored by Pasquale Mazzocchi, who a month earlier had played for Italy against Hungary, becoming the first ever Salernitana player to win a full international cap with the Azzurri.
However, with Mazzocchi recovering from an operation to his cruciate ligament, the threat in Salerno will come from other players.
KEEP AN EYE ON...
Salernitana's top scorer is Boulaye Dia, who has scored eight goals so far - only Federico Bonazzoli (10 in 2021/22), Marco Di Vaio (12 in 1998/99) and Renzo Merlin (10 in 1947/48) have done better in a single Serie A season with the Granata.
From Matchday 10, the Senegalese forward has participated in six goals in Serie A - four goals and two assists - but all outside of the Arechi stadium. Dia has not scored a goal at home since 9 October against Verona.
Although Federico Bonazzoli has scored 12 goals in Serie A for Salernitana, and with one goal he would surpass Di Vaio as the club's all-time top goalscorer in the competition, he is being kept out of the starting line-up by Krzysztof Piatek. The Polish forward scored his last goal from a penalty in the highly-contested first meeting with Juventus in September.
January signing Hans Nicolussi Caviglia, who made his Serie A debut for Juventus on 8 March 2019 against Udinese, scored his first Serie A goal against Atalanta with his only shot on target in the top flight with the Granata. The player on loan from the Bianconeri is in contention for a starter's shirt against his parent club.
