Napoli were just too match for Cagliari on Sunday night as the Partenopei extended their perfect Serie A start to six games, courtesy of a 2-0 win powered by Victor Osimhen and Lorenzo Insigne.
Luciano Spalletti’s troops continued to impress for their athleticism and concentration and left no chance to the Islanders coached by Walter Mazzarri – one who spent four years in Naples as a manager and led the Partenopei to their first trophy (The Coppa Italia 2012) after decades.
Spalletti’s roster is a war machine were Osimhen continues his metamorphosis from the clumsy, wasteful striker he appeared last season into a lethal goal-scorer and Frank Zambo Anguissa has been perhaps the most impactful new joiner in the Serie A so far, together with Milan’s Mike Maignan.
The Napoli coach has found his ideal starting XI where the only rotation is between Hirving Lozano and Matteo Politano on the right wing. Tonight, it was the Italian to start at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Mazzarri replied proposing a few changes versus his usual setup, with Diego Godin, Kevin Strootman and Gabriele Zappa all winning a starting spot.
It didn’t take much to realize that the game was a absolute mismatch. Napoli started aggressively and pegged Cagliari back into their own half with no quarter. On 10 minutes, the score had already changed as Osimhen anticipated Godin to turn a Piotr Zielinski cross into the Partenopei’s deserved lead.
The Nigerian seemed absolutely unstoppable and, on 24 minutes, went close to bag a brace with a right-foot screamer from the edge of the box that scuffed Alessio Cragno’s right post.
Cagliari had no answer and David Ospina was never seriously troubled. In the second half, it was still Osimhen to make the difference as he forced a frustrated Godin to knock him down in the box in the vain attempt to stop him. Referee Marco Piccinini pointed to the penalty spot with no hesitation and captain Insigne made no mistake, setting the score at 2-0 for the home side.
Before the end, there was still time to see Diego Demme back in action, two months after suffering a knee injury that kept him at bay during the start of the season. It was a triumph for Napoli, who recovered the solitary lead of the table with six wins out of six games.
The next in line for Napoli, after next Thursday’s Europa League outing at Spartak Moskva, are going to be Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina, who will receive them at the Artemio Franchi Stadium. Cagliari will face Venezia at the Sardegna Arena and will surely have more chances to take home some points.
MATCH SCORECARD
September 26, 2021 – Serie A 2021-2022 Round 6
NAPOLI – CAGLIARI 2-0
SCORERS: 11′ Osimhen, 57′ Insigne pen.
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NAPOLI (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Anguissa, Fabian Ruiz (88′ Demme); Politano (69′ Lozano), Zielinski (69′ Elmas), Insigne (77′ Ounas); Osimhen (77′ Petagna) (Marfella, Meret, Malcuit, Manolas, Juan Jesus, Zanoli, Mertens) Coach: Spalletti |
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CAGLIARI (3-5-1-1): Cragno; Caceres, Godin, Walukiewicz (68′ Ceppitelli); Zappa, Razvan, Strootman (85′ Grassi), Deiola (68′ Keita), Lykogiannis (85′ Pereiro); Nandez; Joao Pedro (Aresti, Radunovic, Altare, Bellanova, Carboni, Oliva, Pavoletti) Coach: Mazzarri |
REFEREE: Mr. Piccinini from Forlì
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Osimhen, Elmas (N), Walukiewicz (C); Added Time: 1st Half 0′, 2nd Half 3′