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The Naples he beat Roma 4-0 this Sunday in an emotional Serie A match in which the club paid tribute to the deceased Diego Armando Maradona.
It was the first meeting of the Naples in the Italian league since the ex-star’s death on Wednesday in his native Argentina. Maradona led to Naples to his only two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990 and is considered a quasi-mythical figure in the southern Italian city.
“I certainly played with extra motivation, just like all my teammates,” said the captain of the Naples, Lorenzo Insigne. “We have lost our idol and that hurts.”
“Today without a doubt we wanted to get the result more than normal, for Diego, for our city that suffers this loss. We dedicate this victory to him, ”added Insigne.
The triumph led to Naples to tie on points with Roma and Juventus, six behind leaders AC Milan, who had previously beaten Fiorentina 2-0.
In an emotional moment before the game, Insigne placed a bouquet of flowers under the banners dedicated to Maradona, hung in the empty stands at both ends of the stadium.
The San Paolo del Naples will be officially renamed Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
All the Serie A matches corresponding to this day paid tribute to Maradona this weekend. That included a minute of silence for the Argentine’s death, whose image was also projected on stadium screens again after 10 minutes of play, in honor of the number on his back. All the players stopped their actions to applaud.
AP Insigne also held up a T-shirt with the name and number of Maradona and kissed her after scoring the first goal of the match on a free kick in the 31st minute.
Midfielder Fabián Ruiz extended the advantage of Naples at 64, crowning a counterattack with a low shot that entered the lower right corner of the goal.
On the other hand, despite not having its technical director and its top scorer, the AC Milan maintained their unbeaten streak at the start of the Serie A season by defeating the 2-0 Fiorentina and he assured to finish the week at the top of the ranking.
A header from Alessio Romagnoli and a penalty from Franck Kessié in the first half of the game were enough for Milan to claim victory at home. Ruled out due to injury, Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic watched from the stands at the San Siro stadium, cheering on his teammates.
Coach Stefano Pioli was also absent after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The Rossoneri hold a five-point lead over Inter Milan and Sassuolo, who played on Saturday.
In the Fiorentina, the Chilean Erick Thumb played all 90 minutes.
At San Siro they paid tribute to Maradona, as in all the meetings of the Italian league this weekend.
Meanwhile, and despite several absences due to covid-19, Udinese defeated Lazio 3-1 as a visitor. Tolgay Arslan, Ignacio Pussetto and Fernando Forestieri scored for Udinese. Ciro Immobile discounted a penalty for the capital team.
Meanwhile, with a goal from Roberto Soriano shortly before the break, Bologna beat bottom side Crotone 1-0. Chileans Gary Medel and Luis Rojas they were on the bench at the premises and the visitor, respectively. And Cagliari and Spezia tied 2-2.
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