Roma, Feb 18 (BNA): Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0 away from home to move 18 points off the top with a seventh straight Serie A win thanks to first half goals from Khavisha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen on Friday.
Reuters reported that Napoli have 62 points from 23 matches, ahead of second-placed Inter Milan, who host Udinese in mid-table on Saturday and are close to ending a 33-year wait for the league title.
“We won the last few games (before Friday’s victory), but the quality was lower,” Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti told DAZN.
“Tonight, on the other hand, in possession, in running the stages, being a team in every way, I felt we were superior to the last games and I can classify that as a great performance.”
Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring in the 12th minute, taking possession of the midfield and firing the ball into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area.
Nicknamed Cavaradona, the 22-year-old Georgian continues to impress this season with 10 goals and nine assists in Serie A and is now fourth on the scoring charts with the most assists.
Armand Llorente of Sassuolo almost equalized after two minutes, but his shot from inside the penalty area hit the post.
Osimhen doubled Napoli’s lead in the 33rd minute when the Nigerian striker beat Sassuolo goalkeeper Andrea Consigli from an acute angle, taking Serie A’s top scorer to 18 goals.
He also became the first Napoli player to score in seven consecutive league matches since the three points were introduced for the winning rule in the 1994-95 season.
Sassuolo thought they had gone one just before half-time but Llorente’s effort was ruled out by VAR for offside.
Spalletti added, “In my opinion, we suffered many times because Sassuolo coached well and played good football, so you can’t have 90 minutes of excellence and sometimes you have to suffer.”
“We’re in a good moment, but nobody has the assumption that it’s going to get softer and those are important signs for the future.”
Giovanni Simeone headed to Napoli late on but his celebrations were halted after the VAR tipped him off.
Sassuolo remained in 15th place with 24 points.
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