Rome (Italy), Feb 18 (IANS) Serie A leaders Napoli showed no signs of slowing down as they sailed to a 2-0 comfortable win away to Sassuolo, with two splendid strikes from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen.
Luciano Spalletti’s side has looked electric and exhilarating on the pitch this season and headed into Mapei Stadium on Friday night with six wins on the bounce.
Kvaratskhelia, who shot to fame after joining Napoli last summer, showed his talents again as he broke the deadlock in the 12th minute with a moment of magic when the Georgian started the move from the midfield and dribbled forward to ride tackles, he feinted a curler to the corner but instead finished it with a daisy-cutter, reports news agency Xinhua.
Center forward Osimhen continued to cause havoc as he rattled the woodwork in the 26th minute and got his name on the scoresheet seven minutes later when the Nigerian trapped a long pass with a fantastic first touch, resisting a challenge before smashing it in from an extremely tight angle.
It was Osimhen’s seventh consecutive league game on target, taking his tally of goals to 18.
Sassuolo found the back of the net before the interval, but Armand Lauriente’s goal was wiped out due to offside. Napoli’s Giovanni Simone also saw his header in the dying minute cancelled for the same reason.
With the win, Napoli temporarily extended their lead over second-placed Inter Milan to 18 points, but they sweat over Osimhen’s injury as he limped off in the closing phase, which may add concerns ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt next Tuesday.
–IANS
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