SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners.
Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense.
“We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but we are happy with the victory.”
Photo: Reuters
Napoli, who beat holders AC Milan 2-0 in Thursday last week’s semi-final, won their third Supercoppa and the first since 2014, while Bologna, who overcame Inter 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Friday last week, failed at their first attempt to win the trophy.
Eljif Elmas had an early opportunity for Napoli, but dragged his shot wide from just outside the six-yard box.
Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia parried away a Scott McTominay shot as Napoli continued to pile on the pressure, while Bologna struggled to create any chances.
Leonardo Spinazzola was next to try for Napoli. Ravaglia got a hand to his chipped effort allowing Lewis Ferguson back to clear the danger, but the opening goal was worth waiting for.
Neres collected a throw-in before drifting inside where the Bologna defense stood off, leaving him all the time in the world to line up his shot from outside the penalty area and he whipped a curling strike into the top corner.
Ravaglia was in action shortly after halftime, denying Rasmus Hojlund and tipping over Amir Rrahmani’s header from the resulting corner, before Neres netted his second goal.
Ravaglia played a weak pass to Jhon Lucumi, Neres pounced to intercept the ball and chipped the onrushing goalkeeper from a wide angle to all but seal the win.
The victors had further chances, but Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his Napoli substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle.
“Conte is our leader and we follow him until death,” Politano said. “Now we celebrate and then we will think about the championship.”
It was the third edition of the Italian Supercoppa under the new format with four teams involved, but Serie A president Ezio Simonelli hinted that it could be the last.
“Maybe next year we will return to the original spirit of the Italian Supercoppa with a one-off game,” Simonelli told Mediaset before kickoff.
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