Journalist jokes Napoli need ‘beatings’ to stop Manchester City ‘force of nature’ – Conte will want star in a ‘cage’

Napoli’s only hope of stopping Erling Haaland when they take on Manchester City is to beat him into submission.

That’s at least the way Carlo Jacomuzzi would do it, as he joked about the situation via Area Napoli today.

Manchester City host Napoli in the Champions League tomorrow, looking to get their European campaign off to a winning start against last year’s Italian champions.

Haaland is likely to be key to the victory once again as he seeks to continue a fine run of form over the last few weeks that’s seen him bag six goals in two games for Norway and a double in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Manchester United in the Manchester derby.

Napoli will be more than aware of him and his current goalscoring streak and Jacomuzzi has joked there is only one way to actually stop him.

‘How do you stop Haaland? With beatings!” he joked during an appearance on Radio Punto Nuovo.

“He’s a force of nature. I bet Conte is creating a real cage for him. He plays a lot on the left, hoping to keep him with his back to goal.”

The game is sure to be a tactical battle between two of the best managers in the game, with many still trying to work this current iteration of Manchester City out.

They’ve had a busy year reshaping the squad since January and are not quite the team that has dominated English football over the last decade.

And Jacomuzzi believes that works in Napoli’s favour, insisting the Italian side are not as far away from City as they might have once been.

“Napoli is on par with Manchester City. Conte has managed to put together a very strong and balanced team,” he added.

“They are almost a Premier League team. It has strength, it has quality, and the club has helped Conte in the transfer market. It has many characteristics in common with Manchester City.

“Napoli are now at a very similar level to the Citizens. Let’s not get carried away by what Manchester City have achieved, because in England there are ups and downs and some teams go through periods of inconsistency.”