Napoli remained unbeaten in Serie A as they beat Bologna via a 3-2 scoreline in front of a packed stadium in Naples on Sunday evening.
Napoli started the game well but could find the opening goal. Going against the run of play, Bologna drew the first blood, with 21-year-old Joshua Zirkzee scoring in his first Serie A start for the Rossoblù in the 41st minute of the game. Despite being a defender, Juan Jesus notched up the equaliser with a striker’s finish just before the halftime whistle.
Victor Osimhen and Hirving Lozano came onto the field at halftime, replacing Giacomo Raspadori and Matteo Politano, respectively.
Lozano got himself on the scoresheet with a fine finish just after the start of the second half, giving Napoli a 2-1 lead in the match. But with Alex Meret committing a howler on the other end, Musa Barrow equalised for the visitors.
Though, it did not stay for long as Osimhen put the ball past Łukasz Skorupski after receiving a brilliant through ball from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Piotr Zieliński hit the bar as Napoli continued to put pressure on the Bologna defence. The route to the goal for Thiago Motta’s side was via counter-attacks. Napoli’s defence did not break for the third time as the game in a 3-2 scoreline. Here are the player ratings from Napoli’s home victory over Bologna.
Napoli (4-3-3): Meret (4); Di Lorenzo (6), Kim Min-jae (6), Juan Jesus (6.5), Mário Rui (6); Ndombélé (5.5), Lobotka (6.5), Zieliński (6.5); Politano (5.5), Kvaratskhelia (8), Raspadori (5.5).
Substitutes: Lozano (7), Osimhen (7.5), Elmas (N/A), Olivera (N/A), Demme (N/A).
Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski (6), Posch (5), Bonifazi (5.5), Lucumí (5.5), Cambiaso (6), Medel (6), Ferguson (6.5), Domínguez (6.5), Aebischer (5.5), Barrow (7), Zirkzee (7).
Substitutes: Moro (6), Sansone (N/A), Lykogiannis (N/A), De Silvestri (N/A)
GIFN | Jyotirmoy Halder
