Eyes on Samatta as Genk face Napoli in Uefa clash

Dar es Salaam. KRC Genk’s red-hot striker Mbwana Samatta will have a chance to measure himself against Napoli’s dazzling collection of attackers today.

Belgium’s Genk will be looking to bounce back from their 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Australia’s Red Bull Salzburg on Matchday One when they take on Napoli in the Champions League clash.

Samatta scored against Salzburg last month to become the first Tanzanian player to feature and score in the Uefa Champions league.

The 26-year-old national soccer team, Taifa Stars, skipper scored to inspire his team to a comeback, but failed after a nightmarish first half.

After an explosive start to his Uefa Champions League career, fans want to see more of the gifted forward.

“He (Samatta) is going to give Napoli defenders a run for their money if he plays tomorrow (today),” Elias Dominico, a Dar es Salaam soccer fan, said yesterday.

Genk, who are now at the bottom of their group, still have five games to play despite having an abysmal debut last month.

Club boss Felice Mazzu feels that his team is still capable of achieving a first-ever appearance in the last 16 of the competition.

Given that four of Salzburg’s six goals came during a spell before the break, Mazzu will, perhaps, feel that the scoreline was harsh on his players, who showed character in the second half in Austria.

The make-up of their group means that they have not been provided with the easiest of tasks when it comes to reaching the knockout stage.

But back-to-back wins in domestic action indicate that they have shaken off the disappointment of two weeks ago.

They sit seventh in the Belgium league table.

Their efforts on both fronts can bear fruit as Samatta, who has scored once since August 23, produces a consistent run of form. Napoli have recorded four wins from their opening half-a-dozen outings in Serie A this season, but defeats to Juventus and Cagliari have left last year’s runners-up well adrift of leaders Inter Milan.

While coach Carlo Ancelotti will not necessarily find himself under much scrutiny, the experienced boss will be aware that he is under pressure to deliver in this competition after failing to progress past the group stages in 2018.

Their struggles in home games with Cagliari and Brescia suggests that there is much work to be done behind the scenes. Elsewhere, Antoine Griezmann says he knew it would be tough settling in at Barcelona but it may have proven harder than he thought.

Barcelona play at home to Inter Milan today, looking for lift-off in the Uefa Champions League after a goalless draw against Borussia Dortmund made for an underwhelming start to their latest bid for success in Europe.

Griezmann also has something to prove after two steady but unspectacular months, elevated by moments rather than the consistency Ernesto Valverde would have hoped for when the Frenchman’s 120-million euro release clause was activated last summer.