Victor Osimhen notched his 10th Serie A goal since the turn of the year, propelling leaders Napoli to a 2-0 victory over Empoli and stretching their lead to 18 points.
The Nigerian striker extended his impressive run by scoring in his eighth consecutive domestic league game, bringing his side ever closer to their much-awaited Scudetto.
Napoli took an early lead through an own goal by Ardian Ismajli, and Osimhen doubled the advantage with a straightforward finish shortly after.
However, the victory was marred by a red card received by Mario Rui for petulantly kicking out at Francesco Caputo after a VAR check.
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Despite the threat of a potential comeback from the mid-table hosts, Napoli remained in control and sealed the win.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s volleyed cross from left to right was met by Piotr Zielinski, whose effort was inadvertently bundled into his own net by Ismajli in the 17th minute.
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Napoli added to their lead in the 28th minute, with Osimhen scoring again after Guglielmo Vicario parried Kvaratskhelia’s shot into his path.
Although Empoli won the corresponding fixture 3-2 last season after being 2-0 down, they failed to repeat their comeback heroics this time around.
Osimhen thought he had scored a third goal just before the hour mark, but was narrowly offside when the pass was played.
With a quarter of the game remaining, Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti made two substitutions to secure the victory, bringing on midfielder Eljif Elmas and defender Mathias Olivera in place of Kvaratskhelia and Hirving Lozano.
Ultimately, Napoli’s dominance ensured they claimed all three points, maintaining their position at the top of the table.“