Napoli beat Atalanta 2-0 at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium on Saturday evening to regain their 18-point lead at the summit of the Serie A standings.
The Partenopei came into this game after a shock home defeat to Lazio last week that stopped their unbeaten run, but Luciano Spalletti’s side brushed aside their opponents comfortably to get back to winning ways.
MUSSO KEEPS NAPOLI AT BAY
Napoli dominated possession right from the go, but it was a cagey first half that took time to come to life. The hosts had several glorious opportunities to break the deadlock, but Atalanta goalkeeper Juan Musso denied the runaway leaders with a string of brilliant saves to keep his side in the game.
First, he denied Matteo Politano’s goal-bound effort by getting down early before using his chest to keep out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s effort from a tight angle. The Argentina custodian seemed to be at the peak of his powers as he then denied Victor Osimhen and Politano again in quick succession as both sides went goalless into the break.
Kvaratskhelia BREAKS THE DEADLOCK
Soon after the resumption, Musso once again was called into action as he easily gathered from Osimhen’s outrageous bicycle kick. The hosts inevitably took the lead at the hour mark when Kvaratskhelia scored with a thunderous strike.
The Georgian received the ball from Osimhen in the final third and with three opposition defenders to beat, twisted and turned with his dazzling footwork before finishing off the stellar move in what was a breathtaking opening goal. It was the 22-year-old’s 11th goal this campaign.
Twelve minutes from time, Amir Rrahmani made the three points safe with a looping header from the center of the box following a corner. Gianpiero Gasperini’s side had no answer against their hosts as they failed to create any decent openings to trouble Pierluigi Gollini in the Napoli goal.
The result means Napoli surely have one hand on the Scudetto with 12 games left and an unsurmountable 18-point lead. Atalanta meanwhile, who were in second in January, are in free fall, sitting fifth with 42 points from 26 games and having won just one of their last five league games.
Photo Credit: Imago / sportphoto24
