Napoli beat Salernitana in their Serie A fixture to make it three wins from four games without Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen
Serie A giants Napoli continued to cope well without star striker Victor Osimhen, making it three wins from four matches without the Nigeian with a comfortable win over minnows Salernitana.
The Partenopei were head and shoulders over their hosts on Saturday as they earned a 2-0 victory over bottom club Salernitana.
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Goals from in-form Giacomo Raspadori and midfielder Eljif Elmas were enough for Napoli to claim a victory, which now sees them rise to fourth on the table.
How it happened
Napoli have been without talismanic striker Osimhen for three weeks after the forward’s injury on international duty with Nigeria, but have been eager to show how well they can do without their top scorer last season.
In Osimhen’s absence, Napoli have found a new hero in Raspadori, and the Italian forward was vital again for the Partenopei, opening the scoring against Salernitana with a superb finish after 13 minutes.
It was Raspadori’s third goal since Osimhen’s injury, as he has now taken up the mantle of providing the Paretnopei with a bite upfront since the Nigerian’s injury.
Raspadori had not scored before Osimhen’s injury and is making the best of Osimhen’s absence to stake a claim as a starter with Napoli.
Another forward who has been impressive for Napoli since Osimhen’s injury, Matteo Politano, came close to doubling the Partenopei’s lead after his effort struck the post just after the start of the second half.
Napoli laboured to find a second goal against Salernitana, who barely troubled their opponents' goal, and the Partenopei eventually got their just rewards when Elmas struck a superb shot from outside the area to put more daylight between the sides.
The Partenopei have now moved into fourth and could remain there depending on the result between Atalanta and Inter.