Napoli wrapped up all three points against Salernitana harder than expected as it took them plenty of suffering to claim a narrow 1-0 win against newly-promoted hosts. In a tense match that witnessed a red card on each side, Piotr Zielinski’s 61st-minute strike made all the difference between the teams.
Napoli went into Sunday’s clash at Stadio Arechi as overwhelming favorites to maintain their eye-catching start to the season. Luciano Spalletti’s side had nine victories from their inaugural ten Serie A fixtures (D1) and were widely expected to tear relegation-threatened Salernitana apart.
An uneventful first half accompanied by numerous tackles flying in saw Stefano Colantuono’s side keep Napoli at bay. Indeed, the Partenopei barely had a decent chance to put the hosts’ goalkeeper Vid Belec to the test within the opening 45 minutes of play. Salernitana stood their ground despite surrendering over 70% possession to their visitors.
The keenly-contested battle in the middle of the pitch stretched over to the second half, but Zielinski sneaked the ball past Belec just beyond the hour mark to give his side an all-important three points. It’s been the Pole’s second goal in Serie A this season after his contribution in Napoli’s 4-0 thrashing of Sampdoria in September.
However, his goal at Salernitana has been immensely more significant, helping Napoli win ten of their opening 11 Serie A matches for only the second time in their history. Zielinski refused to hide his excitement about giving the Partenopei a massive victory against Campanian minnows.
“It wasn’t easy, I almost scored at the start of the game,” he told DAZN, as relayed by TUTTOmercatoWEB. “We didn’t take advantage of the numerical superiority, but we won, and we are happy.
“Salernitana did well in defense, we reached 20 meters and lacked the decisive shots and passes. I’m happy it arrived at this moment. It’s the winning goal in the derby, I’m happy. But more than for the goal, I’m happy for the team that continues to win.“