Napoli registered their third straight win after beating ten-man Venezia 2-0. Victor Osimhen was back in the starting XI and back among the goals as he opened the scoring for Luciano Spalleti’s side after meeting Matteo Politano’s fine cross with a header.
Andrea Petagna doubled Napoli’s lead in the dying minutes of the match after Venezia were reduced to ten men following the sending off of Tyronne Ebuehi.
It was a much-needed victory for the Partenopei as they go up to second in the Serie A table. Napol are just a point behind Inter who have a game in hand.
Starting XIs: Osimhen Back in the Lineup, Venezia Make Five Changes
Spalletti made four changes to the team that thrashed Salernitana 4-1 with David Ospina replacing Alex Meret in goal. Politano replaced Hirving Lozano in right wing while Lorenzo Insigne was back in the XI at the expense of Elif Elmas. Osimhen started for the first time since his return from injury and replaced Dries Mertens.
Venezia made five changes to the team that lost 2-1 to Inter.
Neither Side Able to Break the Deadlock
Napoli started strongly and Osimhen had an early scoring chance but he couldn’t cash in on it. The club’s captain Lorenzo Insigne had a chance to score through his left foot but his shot went straight towards Luca Lezzerini. Just minutes later, the Partenopei had a very good chance to score through Matteo Politano but his shot went just over the crossbar.
Venezia had an attempt on goal from Ebuehi but the Nigerian’s shot was wide. Osimhen had Napoli’s best scoring opportunity in the first half but his shot hit the post. Soon after that, Venezia had a very good chance to take the lead when David Okereke got past Juan Jesus and took a shot on goal. However, Ospina foiled the Nigerian.
Osimhen and Petagna score for Napoli
The Partenopei got their opener just before the hour-mark thanks to Osimhen who headed in from Politano’s fine cross. Napoli continued to attack and the Venezia backline were persistently kept busy. The hosts found it hard to come back into the match as they were forced to defend more than attack.
Substitute Petagna came close to scoring a second in stoppage time but his shot was blocked by Lezzerini. Just minutes after this, Venezia were reduced to ten men after Ebuehi was sent off following a foul on Dries Mertens. Paolo Zanetti’s side had a very good chance to equalize through substitute Thomas Henry but his header was saved by Ospina.
Moments later, Napoli put the game to bed. The visitors started a counter-attack and Mertens took a shot on goal. Lezzerini managed to foil the Belgian but Petagna tapped in from the rebound.
What Next for Venezia and Napoli
Venezia travel to Turin next weekend to take on Torino while Napoli have a tough task ahead as they host reigning champions Inter.
MATCH SCORECARD
February 6, 2022 – Serie A 2021-2022 Matchday 24
VENEZIA – NAPOLI: 0-2
SCORERS: 59′ Osimhen (N), 90+10
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VENEZIA (4-3-3): Lezzerini, Ebuehi, Caldara, Ceccaroni, Haps, Crnigoj (70′ Busio), Ampadu (78′ Fiordilino), Cuisance (78′ Nsame), Johnsen (70′ Aramu), Okereke, Nani (62′ Henry) (Molinaro, Tessman, Sigurdsson, Modolo, Svoboda, Peretz, Romero); Coach: Zanetti |
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NAPOLI (4-2-3-1): Ospina, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan, Rui, Ruiz, Lobotka, Politano (79′ Elmas), Zielinski (88′ Ghoulam), Insigne (79′ Mertens), Osimhen (88′ Petagna) (Meret, Malcuit, Demme, Marfella, Zanoli); Coach: Spalletti |
REFEREE: Mr. Mariani
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Lobotka (N), Rui (N), Busio (V), Ceccaroni (V); Red Cards: Ebuehi (V) ; Added Time: 1st Half 0′, 2nd Half 8 ‘