Six Pack at the Maradona Stadium as Napoli Brush Fiorentina Aside

Playing at their home Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Napoli lined up in their familiar 4-2-3-1 formation and slugged Fiorentina in the mouth with six bruising goals in Serie A Round 18.

Five different Napoli players scored, with Lorenzo Insigne being the loan player with two goals, one of those coming from the spot on a penalty kick. It was just the performance coach Gennaro Gattuso was looking for to build momentum for the Supercoppa Italiana match coming up on Wednesday against Juventus.

During the week leading up to the match, Gattuso canceled training for one day and organized a lunch outing in Ercolano. It was reported that Tiémoué Bakayoko paid for the lunch, a great gesture from the first-year player with the Partenopei.

There were moments of suffering for Napoli, especially during the 27th minute when a shot by Frank Ribery, who just returned after spending the last two matches recovering from injury, was blocked by David Ospina. It was a great save that helped keep the game in control for Napoli.

Other than that moment, Napoli dominated most of the 90 minutes of action. Even, if they uncharacteristically had just under 50 percent ball possession. With seven shots on goal, the Partenopei were able to convert all but one of those into scores. A complete turnaround in percentage from previous matches.

⏱ 90’ | È FINITA ?#NapoliFiorentina 6-0

? #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/al2cnwmP4g

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) January 17, 2021

With two goals and an assist, Insigne was the Man of the Match, and now has a total of 99 goals scored for Napoli in all competitions. Hirving Lozano also impressed with a goal and was a threat the entire match down the left side of the pitch putting extreme pressure on the opposition.

The match also saw Antonio Cioffi get his first minutes with Napoli in Serie A. Cioffi was called up from the Primavera team a few weeks ago, and hopefully, he can progress into a fine player for Napoli.

Dries Mertens got his first action since his ankle injury several weeks ago. With Andrea Petagna limping off the pitch with a calf injury, Mertens’ contribution on Wednesday against Juventus could be a difference maker.

Another special moment for this match was José Callejon’s return to the stadium he played in so passionately for with Napoli. This was his first appearance in a Viola shirt against Napoli since departing the Partenopei this past summer.

Napoli will now focus on getting ready for the Supercoppa Italiana match on Wednesday against arch-rival Juventus. Fiorentina will try and recover from this thrashing quickly and get prepared for their match next weekend against Crotone who are fighting to get out of the relegation zone.

Bella vittoria! Ora dobbiamo restare concentrati e prepararci al top per la #Supercoppa ??

Belle victoire! Restons maintenant concentrés et préparons-nous pour la #Supercoppa ??

Nice win! Now let's stay focused and get ready for the #Supercoppa ??#NapoliFiorentina 6-0 #KK pic.twitter.com/rbqxy7qtDV

— Koulibaly Kalidou (@kkoulibaly26) January 17, 2021