Ishii Drives Frosinone’s Eight-Goal Thriller

Tatsuya Ishii turned a breathless contest into his own stage: two goals, an assist and the sharpest edge in Frosinone’s 4-4 draw with Napoli on 15 September. Napoli had more of the ball and far more attempts, but Ishii repeatedly made Frosinone’s possession count.

His two goals and one assist were central to a home side that put five of its six shots on target. Ishii also created two key passes, earning a 9.1 rating across 75 minutes before he was replaced. The scoreline tells of an open match; his contribution explains how Frosinone matched Napoli’s four despite having only 49 per cent possession.

Napoli took 20 shots, nine on target, and found two goals through Manu Remeseiro after he came on in the 80th minute. Rammy Karagula supplied two assists, while Basile Pirson also scored. Frosinone, by contrast, had no room for waste: their 2.1 expected goals came from six attempts, and Ishii supplied the decisive quality in front of goal and in the build-up.

There was discipline to the imbalance as well as drama. Frosinone completed 497 of 551 passes, close to Napoli’s 514 from 576, and Angelo Sturba added four interceptions while contributing an assist. Both sides collected four yellow cards, but neither could shut the door on the other.

For Ishii, now 30, this was a commanding individual display in a result that refused to settle. Frosinone leave the contest with a point; Napoli leave knowing that control of the ball and a sizeable advantage in shots were not enough to contain one precise, persistent forward.