Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

Napoli beat Sampdoria to move up in Serie A

The victory helped Napoli move to 10th in the Serie A table, still two points off the Europa League berths.

Napoli

Bengaluru, February 4: Napoli claimed back-to-back wins in Serie A for just the second time this season with a 4-2 victory at Sampdoria.

Gennaro Gattuso's side, who beat champions Juventus 2-1 recently followed it up with a resounding win at Genova.

Arkadiusz Milik struck early for the visitors, nodding in the first after just three minutes off a cross from fellow Pole Piotr Zielinski, as a flare on the pitch in Genoa distracted the Sampdoria defenders.

North Macedonia international Elmas tapped in a second after quarter of an hour for his first goal in Italy's top flight.

But Sampdoria halved the deficit with Fabio Quagliarella's powerful volley on 26 minutes.

Gaston Ramirez had the ball in the back of the net before the hour mark with a spectacular overhead kick, but VAR ruled that Manolo Gabbiadini's arm touched the ball in the build-up.

Gabbiadini pulled Sampdoria level from the penalty spot with 15 minutes to go after Kostas Manolas tripped Quagliarella in the box.

Demme, who arrived last month from RB Leipzig, restored Napoli's advantage seven minutes from time with Dries Mertens sweeping the fourth into an empty net deep into injury time.

1
2021268

The victory helped Napoli move to 10th in the Serie A table, still two points off the Europa League berths.

Results | Points Table | Fixtures

But a return to the UEFA Champions League remains a distant hope as Napoli, who also dumped holders Lazio out of the Italian Cup last month, remain nine points behind fourth-placed Atalanta and Roma.

"We're back," declared captain Lorenzo Insigne following a hard-fought game.

"We're giving continuity to the work we do during the week with the coach. This is a victory for the group.

"The UEFA Champions League is feasible but we have to think game by game. We've done a lot of damage, but now we have to recover and get our season back on track."

Meanwhile, Claudio Ranieri's Sampdoria sit four points above the relegation zone.

"We must continue to believe," said Ranieri.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Story first published: Tuesday, February 4, 2020, 12:49 [IST]
Other articles published on Feb 4, 2020