Last week, Achraf Lazaar, who moved on loan from Newcastle United to Benevento in Serie A, took a slight dig at his former manager.
Claiming his move back to Italy was ‘the end of a nightmare’, the Morocco international revealed the extent of Rafael Benitez’s desire to bring him to St James’ Park in the first place, only to end up on the bench for the vast majority of the season.
Unfortunately for him, his return to Serie A, a league the Spaniard said he was better suited for, didn’t exactly go to plan.
While leaving Newcastle might have been the end of a nightmare, his first full start for his new club was anything but dreamy, as he faced Napoli away, which ended up in a 6-0 victory for Maurizio Sarri’s side.
If you’re wondering how the left-back got on, it wasn’t pretty.
Il Mattino on Monday have a brief resume of his performance, which states: “The Moroccan international from Casablanca played from the start after his 24 minute cameo against Torino.
He seemed lively at first, and tried to get a forward, attempting a few crosses, but in vain. He barely tracked Hysaj, creating problems for the left hand side of his team. He disappeared as the minutes went by”
Currently on four losses from their first four games, things probably won’t get any better until next Sunday at the earliest, as they welcome AS Roma midweek.
An away trip to Crotone, barring a great home performance against Eusebio Di Francesco’s men, seems like their first real chance for points.
Lazaar will hope he hadn’t left his Newcastle United nightmare, only to find a different one in Italy.
