With Napoli boasting such an incredible run of form, it was pure utopia to believe that Cremonese could somehow halt the Partenopei‘s march in Serie A. Still, Massimiliano Alvini’s courageous side managed to give quite a few troubles to Luciano Spalletti’s band as Cyril Dessers equalized Matteo Politano’s spot-kick opener.
Eventually, though, Napoli’s talent and power made the difference as they put three more into the back of Ionit Radu’s net to wrap a sounding 1-4 win and remain alone at the top of the league table – consequence of Atalanta failing to win at Udinese.
The Partenopei sent a clear message after less than two minutes as Amir Rrhamani hit the crossbar with a brutal shot from close range. Cremonese were alive, however, and made themselves heard with Luca Zanimacchia, who also hit the post, even though he was offside.
On 24 minutes, the first episode that steered the match in the Azzurri‘s direction: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia dashed past Matteo Bianchetti and forced the Cremonese defender to foul him in the box. Referee Rosario Abisso had no doubts and pointed at the penalty spot. Politano’s conversion was perfect.
Napoli’s ball possession peaked at 73% in the first half. The Grigiorossi‘s only hopes seemed to lie in counterattacks and that appeared to be Massimilano Alvini’s plan.
Goalkeeper Radu keep his side afloat right after the restart with a double save from Giacomo Raspadori and Frank Zambo Anguissa’s efforts. That seemed to charge Cremonese up, as the hosts put themselves back on track just one minute later.
It was Dessers to draw level for the Grigiorossi, as he found himself on the trajectory of Santiago Ascacibar’s shot and turned it into an equalizer for his side with a fine chip. It was the first Serie A goal for the Nigeria international.
Cremonese’s wall held until 76 minutes, when a high range cross from Mario Rui was picked by Giovanni Simeone at the far post and headed home as Radu appeared too hesitant to contrast El Cholito.
The Grigiorossi eventually lowered their guard and ended up spoiling their good performance by conceding two more goals during stoppage time. Napoli showed no mercy as substitutes Hirving Lozano and Mathias Olivera set the score at 1-4, wrapping another goleada for the Partenopei.
Since after the last international break, Napoli have scored 13 goals in 3 games. Plus, fourteen different Napoli player have found the back of the net since the season started. Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli’s numbers are just impressive. As things stand, the only question one can ask is, for how long they can manage to maintain such level of performance.
MATCH SCORECARD
October 9, 2022 – Serie A 2022-2023 Round 9
CREMONESE – NAPOLI 1-4
SCORERS: 24′ Politano (N, pen.), 47′ Dessers (C), 76′ Simeone (N), 94′ Lozano (N), 95′ Olivera (N)
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CREMONESE (4-2-3-1): Radu; Sernicola, Bianchetti, Lochoshvili, Valeri (72′ Buonaiuto); Ascacibar (79′ Ciofani), Meité; Zanimacchia (46′ Okereke), Afena-Gyan (62′ Escalante), Quagliata; Dessers (72′ Aiwu) (Carnesecchi, Saro, Vasquez, Pickel, Baez, Acella, Ndiaye, Milanese) Coach: Alvini |
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NAPOLI (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani (82′ Ostigard), Kim, Mario Rui (82′ Olivera); Anguissa, Lobotka, Ndombélé (57′ Simeone); Politano (73′ Lozano), Raspadori (73′ Zielinski), Kvaratskhelia (Marfella, Sirigu, Juan Jesus, Zanoli, Zedadka, Elmas, Demme, Gaetano, Zerbin) Coach: Spalletti |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Zanimacchia, Sernicola (C); Added Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 5′
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