Giacomo Raspadori's goal helps Napoli to victory over Salernitana
Starting in place of the injured Victor Osimhen, it took Giacomo Raspadori just 13 minutes to get his name on the scoresheet, controlling Piotr Zielinski's pass before firing into the top corner from close range.
The visitors remained on the front foot, combining to produce free-flowing attacking football that should have resulted in a second Partenopei goal on the brink of half-time, only for Guillermo Ochoa’s outstretched glove to deny Raspadori. Having rarely troubled Alex Meret in the Napoli goal, Salernitana are now without a first-half strike in 10 SA games.
Soon after the restart, Napoli came within inches of a deserved second goal when Matteo Politano curled an effort onto the outside of the post following some passive Granata defending. For all their attacking verve, Napoli were finding a second goal elusive, carrying a slender one-goal advantage beyond the hour mark. Nonetheless, Filippo Inzaghi cut a frustrated figure on the touchline, watching on as his side failed to take advantage of their fortunate position in the contest.
Ahead of kick-off, no SA side had conceded more than Salernitana’s eight goals in the final 15 minutes of games this season, and with 82 minutes on the clock, that unfortunate statistic became worse. Substitute Eljif Elmas capped off a direct run by curling in his first goal of the season, confirming an 11th head-to-head without defeat for Napoli (W7, D4) and taking Rudi Garcia’s side back into the UEFA Champions League places, at least for the time being. Meanwhile, Salernitana remain rock-bottom of the table without a clean sheet to their name and having failed to find the net in seven of 11 SA games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Matteo Politano (Napoli)