Milan (AFP) – Arkadiusz Milik and Lorenzo Insigne scored quick-fire goals with Simone Verdi adding a third from the spot as Napoli got back winning in Serie A with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sampdoria on Saturday.
Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella was thwarted in bid to set a new record by scoring in 12 consecutive Serie A games, as the side from Genoa also missed the chance to move up to the final Champions League place in fourth.
The 36-year-old had matched Gabriel Batistuta’s 1994 record for scoring in 11 straight games last week.
But Quagliarella — who is from Naples and had scored in Sampdoria’s 3-0 win over Napoli earlier in the campaign — was denied his best chance to make history by a sliding Kalidou Koulibaly tackle.
AC Milan had dented Carlo Ancelotti’s side’s title hopes with a goalless draw in the San Siro last weekend before dumping the southerners out of the Coppa Italia midweek.
Napoli closed the gap on Juventus to eight points before the champions host Parma later on Saturday, to consolidate second place, 11 points ahead of Inter Milan who host Bologna on Sunday.
Napoli skipper Marek Hamsik returned from injury and orchestrated the opener after 25 minutes in the San Paolo Stadium.
The Slovak international’s cross found Jose Callejon who burst through to provide the assist which Milik finished off for his 12th league goal this season.
Less than a minute later Insigne clinically finished off another Callejon assist for his first league goal in three months.
“I’m happy to have broken that drought,” said Insigne who raced over to embrace Ancelotti on the sidelines.
“I usually start the season quite slowly, so it was unusual this time around, and then I had a dip in form later on and I got a bit down.”
Napoli were awarded a penalty for a Joachim Andersen handball but despite the calls of ‘Kalidou, Kalidou’ from the crowd for the Senegalese defender to take it after his towering performance on the night, it was Verdi who stepped up to convert in the final minute.
Sampdoria remain sixth, two points off AC Milan in the final Champions League berth.
Champions Juventus turn their focus back to their quest for an eighth consecutive Serie A title later after their four-year Coppa Italia reigned ended with a 3-0 loss to Atalanta.
Earlier Francesco Caputo scored a brace as Empoli came from two goals down to hold relegation rivals Chievo 2-2.
