Napoli dominates the scene at the Maradona: Palermo is outclassed with a 5-0 victory without a story. The Azzurri, with a convincing performance, close the matter in the first minutes, thanks to a brace from Ngonge.
Goals from Juan Jesus and Neres and McTominay will follow in the second half. Conte's men will face Lazio in the round of 16.
The match started with an aggressive and incisive Napoli, who after only eight minutes found the lead with ngongeThe Belgian, served by Raspadori, unleashes a powerful left-footed shot, which surprises Sirigu, unable to hold on to the central but powerful conclusion.
A few minutes pass and Ngonge himself scores again, in the 12th minute, with a gem: he receives the ball on the left, feints, comes back and kicks with his left foot, putting the ball under the crossbar. Two goals that stun Palermo and galvanise the Neapolitan fans, present en masse in the stands.
Napoli does not stop and continues to press, while Palermo struggles to reorganize. The third goal arrives in the 42nd minute from a corner: David Neres, the absolute star of the evening, paints a perfect corner that finds the head of Juan Jesus, who seals the third with a clean shot, bringing the number of assists for the Brazilian this season to four, which continues to grow.
Second half: Palermo down to 10, Napoli scores five goals
In the second half, the script does not change.
Palermo, reduced to ten men following the expulsion of Vasić, who in the 58th minute came in awkwardly on Gilmour, found themselves struggling to defend, and Napoli took advantage of this to run riot. In the 69th minute it was once again Neres, with a cunning move, who took advantage of a defensive error by Ceccaroni and scored the poker goal.
A perfect evening for the attacking winger, who finally finds the way to goal for the first time in the blue shirt. The final 5-0 comes in the 76th minute thanks to Scott McTominay, who had just come on.
The Scottish midfielder is served in the area by Lukaku and does not miss, hitting it precisely under the crossbar. Shortly before, in the 73rd minute, he had been unlucky, hitting the crossbar with a sensational assist from Zerbin.
The entrance of Lukaku, Kvaratskhelia and McTominay himself, wanted by Conte to give new life to the attack, immediately proved effective. Palermo, despite a couple of chances in the first half, including a post by Brunori, never managed to really worry the goal defended by Caprile.
Vasić's expulsion then definitively sunk the hopes of the rosanero, who appeared too defeatist and lacking in ideas. With this victory, Napoli advances to the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa, where they will face Lazio.
Article published on 26 September 2024 - 23:01
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