SSC Napoli celebrated cementing their third-place finish in Serie A and a berth in the qualifying stages of next season’s Champions League with a 3-0 rout of 10-man Cagliari on Tuesday.
Fresh from victory over ACF Fiorentina in last week’s violence-hit Coppa Italia final, Rafael Benitez’s men were assured of ending the season in third earlier on Tuesday courtesy of another Fiorentina defeat when the fourth-placed Viola were stunned 4-3 by US Sassuolo.
At the Stadio San Paolo, Napoli outclassed the Sardinian visitors, who played much of the second half with 10 men after Cagliari goalie Marco Silvestri saw red for a foul on Goran Pandev on 54 minutes.
Photo: EPA
By then, the Azzurri had already raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to Dries Mertens’ 33rd-minute spot-kick, given after Daniele Conti hauled Pandev down in the box as the striker prepared to kick the ball.
Pandev doubled the hosts’ lead three minutes before the interval when he turned Jose Callejon’s unselfish square ball into a virtually empty net.
Despite having little to do, Napoli goalie Pepe Reina had a slight muscle problem and, with No. 2 Rafael also injured, was replaced for the second half by Roberto Colombo, the 38-year-old making his first official appearance for the Azzurri.
Photo: AFP
Silvestri was at fault nine minutes after the restart when he brought Pandev down in the box as the Macedonian prepared to round him and shoot.
Cagliari coach Ivo Pulga took Agim Ibraimi off and sent on Vlada Avramov, who was only too happy to see Marek Hamsik smash his spot-kick off the bar.
Yet barely five minutes later, Blerim Dzemaili put the match beyond the Rossoblu’s reach when he drove home Napoli’s third.
Photo: EPA
“They deserved the win. We just didn’t get into the game. Now, we have to look forward and preparing for Chievo [de Verona],” Pulga said after the match.
Benitez added: “When you win a game in this fashion a few days after winning the Cup [Coppa], it means we’re on the right road.”
In Florence, Domenico Berardi scored his second hat-trick of the season, with one goal coming from the penalty spot, as Sassuolo stunned Fiorentina 4-3 to move two points clear of the drop zone.
Sassuolo’s eighth win of the campaign moved them up to 16th, two points clear of Bologna. Fiorentina stay fourth, but with two games left Vincenzo Montella’s side are only six points ahead of sixth-placed Torino.
Sassuolo coach Eusebio di Francesco could not quite believe his eyes as his side piled on the goals and celebrated wildly with his players at the final whistle.
“Now we have two crucial games to try and stay in the top flight. We can’t give up now,” said Di Francesco, who was sacked in January and brought back in March.
Although Sassulo’s win was a gift to Napoli, the San Paolo was comparatively somber as fans sung and waved banners in honor of 30-year-old Napoli fan Ciro Esposito, who is in hospital after being shot close to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico as fans clashed ahead of the Coppa final on Saturday.
Responding to the outrage over the surreal Coppa, Italian authorities on Tuesday issued a five-year stadium ban to Gennaro de Tommaso, an “ultra” Napoli supporter who allegedly played a key role in having the final delayed after several Napoli fans were shot.
The violence delayed the final for 45 minutes during which Napoli captain Marek Hamsik was brought over to speak with De Tommaso, and shortly afterward, a new kickoff was set.
Rome police banned the leader of an Azzurri fan group from entering sports matches for five years, news agency ANSA reported.
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