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Napoli won comprehensively against Roma in Serie A on Sunday night and the performance was a great way to mark Diego Maradona’s memory.
The Argentine legend passed away on Wednesday at the age of 60 and Partenopei defeated Giallorossi 4-0 in the first Derby del Sole of 2020/21. In addition to being the first Italian league match played by the Neapolitans since the death of ‘El Pibe de Oro’, this result will be remembered for other reasons.
This Week 9 result equaled Napoli’s highest score and margin against Roma. Ciucciarelli also beat Lupi 4-0 in Serie A in 1971 and 1980.
Maradona was the captain and creative spark of the Partenopei during its glory days from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s and it was fitting that the current Napoli captain and main creator Lorenzo Insigne starred against the Romans.
The left-back scored the first goal with a sumptuous free kick; assisted in the second goal by Ciucciarelli, who scored from outside the area Fabián Ruiz; and participated in the fourth goal, which was scored by Matteo Politano.
With that display, Insigne became the only player to score a goal and provide an assist in each of the last nine seasons since 2012/13. The 29-year-old also surpassed another club icon in Luis Vinicio to become his 10th top scorer in Serie A with 69 goals.
Napoli have an uncanny ability to score goals from outside the penalty area and their long distance shooting ability was there to see against Roma.
Insigne’s free kick was the third he scored in Serie A and Fabián Ruiz’s goal was the ninth of his career in the Italian league. Five of those goals have been scored from long range, including the last four.
No other team during the 2020/21 season of the Italian league has scored more goals from outside the box than Partenopei, who have scored five times that way.
It was also a historic night for Napoli strategist Gennaro Gattuso, who earned his 50th Serie A victory as a coach and became the first Ciucciarelli manager to win his first two Serie A games against Roma.
It was also fitting that Dries Mertens was among the scorers when he scored the Partenopei’s third against Roma. Maradona with 115 goals in competition is now third on the list of all-time goalscorers at the southern Italian club, while Marek Hamsik is second with 121 and the Belgian is first with 129 and counting.
Napoli mourned the loss of an icon of his club and city, but it was also a celebration of his exciting and tumultuous life. Against a Rome that had been in shape, the Ciucciarelli destroyed the Lupi.
Although Maradona is no longer alive, his spirit and inspiration will live on and Napoli’s performance against Roma surely would have made the legendary Argentine proud.
The post Napoli pays a perfect tribute to Maradona who first appeared on Forza Italian Football.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com
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