Napoli 3-0 Cremonese: Runaway Serie A leaders win again to open up 16-point lead

Napoli’s procession towards a first Serie A title since 1990 continued as they picked up another three points against Cremonese.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia started the scoring before the break for the hosts as they strolled to a comfortable 3-0 victory, their sixth league win in a row.

The hosts started brightly as Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Mario Rui had early chances comfortably saved, while Johan Vasquez wasted a rare opening at the other end, when, after being picked out in acres of space in the area, he was let down by a heavy touch.

That came back to haunt him when Kvaratskhelia handed Luciano Spalletti’s side a 21st minute lead, firing into the bottom corner following an unchallenged burst into the area.

The Georgian then sent a towering header over the bar, as did Victor Osimhen, as Napoli became completely and utterly dominant, with Stanislav Lobotka also being thwarted by Marco Carnesecchi before the break.

The goalkeeper came to the rescue after half-time too, tipping a terrific Hirving Lobotka strike after the bar after a mazy run, but it was 2-0 just after the hour mark when Osimhen tapped home from close range after Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s effort had been superbly saved.

Substitute Eljif Elmas grabbed a third late on, completing a lovely move that he started himself by firing into the bottom corner after exchanging passes with Di Lorenzo.

TALKING POINT – Napoli march on

There have been false dawns before for Napoli in their quest for a first Serie A title since the days of Diego Maradona, including several near misses to Juventus.

As such, some of the more glass-half-empty fans have feared a collapse will come, but even the most pessimistic supporter must surely accept that the long drought is nearly over.

Luciano Spalletti’s side were untouchable, barely allowing Cremonese a shot on goal as they dominated in terms of possession and territory, and looked as if they had plenty more gears to roll through if needed.

They now sit 16 points clear at the top of the table – with only 16 games left, it’s a matter of when, not if, they get their hands on the silverware.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)

This is the Georgian’s first season in Serie A, but he has quickly announced himself as one of European football’s most glittering players.

Celebrating his 22nd birthday, the forward was simply imperious, grabbing his ninth goal of the league season in the first half with a fierce finish after tenaciously keeping the ball in play.

But his performance here was about so much more than being the matchwinner as he constantly drifted into pockets of space as he proved a constant thorn in Cremonese’s side.

PLAYER RATINGS

Napoli: Meret 6; Di Lorenzo 8, Rrahmani 7, Kim 7, Rui 6; Anguissa 7, Lobotka 8, Zielinski 6; Kvaratskhelia 9, Osimhen 8, Lozano 8. Subs: Elmas 7, Olivera 6, Raspadori n/a, Ndombele n/a, Demme n/a.

Cremonese: Carnesecchi 7; Ferrari 6, Chiriches6, Vasquez 5; Sernicola 6, Pickel 6, Meite 5, Benassi 6, Aiwu 5; Gyan 5, Tsadjout 5. Subs: Valeri 6, Ciofani 6, Castagnetti 6, Ghiglione 5, Acella n/a

KEY MOMENTS

21’ GOAL! Napoli 1-0 Cremonese (Kvaratskhelia). The birthday boy does it! He keeps the ball in on the far side and the defence don’t close him down quickly enough. He skips into the area and fires a low shot into the bottom corner.

45’ PENALTY? Well, it looked nailed on to me. Alex Ferrari clearly clips Kvaratskhelia’s ankles in the box. The Georgian goes down and is stunned when the referee only awards a goal kick. How VAR didn’t look at that I do not know

53’ LOZANO COMES CLOSE TO A STUNNER. What a goal that would have been! Lozano dispossesses Valeri and then dances into the area before unleashing a fierce shot that is a bit too close to Carnesecchi, who pushes over the bar

65’ GOAL! Napoli 2-0 Cremonese (Osimhen). Well that will kill it off once and for all! Carnesecchi made a stunning save initially to push away Di Lorenzo’s header, but Napoli work the ball back to Osimhen who literally cannot miss as he basically taps home on the goal line

79’ GOAL! Napoli 3-0 Cremonese (Elmas). The substitute could barely have made a better introduction! He bursts forward before passing to Di Lorenzo. The substitute returns the lay-off, and Elmas smashes home from inside the box. Game. Over.

KEY STATS

• This was Napoli’s tenth home league victory of the season – the other game was a 1-1 stalemate with Lecce in August
• Cremonese remain without a Serie A win since beating Padova 2-1 in March 1996