Sassuolo 0-2 Napoli: Stunners from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen see table-toppers open up 18-point lead

Napoli increased their commanding lead at the top of Serie A to 18 points as sensational first-half solo goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen earned them a 2-0 win away to Sassuolo.

The Georgian ran half the length of the pitch to net the early opener before Serie A top scorer Osimhen doubled their lead with a strike from the tightest of angles for his 18th league goal of the season.

Sassuolo thought they had pulled one back through Armand Lauriente, only for VAR to deny the winger, and the chances kept coming thick and fast in the second half, when Napoli substitute Giovanni Simeone was denied a last-minute goal as VAR intervened with another offside call.

Luciano Spalletti celebrated his 1000th career match as a coach with a result that sent his side up to 62 points, further extending the yawning gap to second-placed Inter Milan, who are on 44 points and face Udinese on Saturday.

Spalletti resisted the temptation to tinker with his side too much, despite having a Champions League last 16 clash with Eintracht Frankfurt to think about next week, and the decision to stick with the deadly duo of Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen soon paid off.

The Georgian notched an extraordinary opener in the 12th minute, picking the ball up on the halfway line, riding two challenges and finding a gap between a defender’s legs to slot into the bottom corner and notch his 10th league goal of the season.

Sassuolo almost instantly hit back when Lauriente’s shot struck the foot of the post, and Osimhen then saw an effort cannon off the woodwork as the chances kept coming in a high-tempo thriller.

The Nigerian got his goal when he held off a marker and arrowed a shot between Andrea Consigli and his near post from an improbable angle.

Sassuolo pulled one back when Lauriente stabbed home a finish shortly before the break, only for a VAR review to decide that Napoli defender Mathias Olivera had been impeded in the build-up by Gregoire Defrel, who was in an offside position, and therefore the goal was ruled out.

Osimhen had a string of chances in the second half but couldn’t take any of them, poking one effort wide when one-on-one with Consigli and having another parried over the bar by the keeper.

Sassuolo also threatened, with substitute Emil Ceide whistling an effort just wide, but it was Simeone who came closest to a goal after the break when he headed in a perfectly-weighted cross from fellow replacement Hirving Lozano, only to be denied by VAR.

TALKING POINT – SPALLETTI RIGHT TO STICK WITH STRONG TEAM

The temptation of shuffling the pack ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Germany must have been there for Spalletti. As momentous a feat as winning Serie A would be for Napoli, the Champions League is still a competition they will quite rightly hope to go far in.

But Spalletti’s refusal to make big changes, Mario Rui and Piotr Zielinski being the only usual starters left out, paid off as his well-oiled machine of a team earned yet another win to edge closer to that holy grail of their third Scudetto.

Napoli’s relentless consistency is what has set them apart from their error-prone rivals this season, and a difficult away trip like this ahead of a distracting European tie screams ‘banana skin’ in the fixture list. It wasn’t to be, as Spalletti’s star men shined in Reggio Emilia to take the Partenopei one step closer to their goal.

MAN OF THE MATCH – VICTOR OSIMHEN

You could take a critical view of Osimhen’s performance and say that if it weren’t for some wayward finishing, he would have had three or four goals tonight.

But still, it was thanks to the striker’s restless movement that he kept finding himself chance after chance by pressuring the Sassuolo defence and pulling them in different directions. The finish for his goal was sublime, showing both strength and finesse to hold off a defender and squeeze the shot into the gap between Consigli and his near post.

PLAYER RATINGS

Sassuolo: Consigli 4; Zortea 5, Erlic 6, Tressoldi 6, Rogerio 6; Frattesi 6, Maxime Lopez 6, Matheus Henrique 6; Bajrami 5, Defrel 5, Laurienté 7

Subs: Pinamonti 6, Thorstvedt 6, Ceide 7, Obiang N/A, Alvarez N/A

Napoli: Meret 7; Di Lorenzo 6, Rrahmani 7, Kim 7, Olivera 7; Anguissa 7, Lobotka 7, Elmas 7; Politano 6, Osimhen 9, Kvaratskhelia 9

Subs: Zielinski 6, Ndombele 6, Lozano 7, Simeone 7, Zerbin 6

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

12’ GOAL! KVARATSKHELIA PUTS NAPOLI IN FRONT!

Oh my word! What an outstanding goal from Kvaratskhelia as his magical season continues. The Georgian winger picks up the ball on the halfway line, skips past one tackle, gets to the edge of the box and finds a gap to guide a shot into the bottom corner! Outstanding.

14’ SASSUOLO HIT THE POST!

Sassuolo so close to an immediate response! They immediately fight back as Lauriente cuts in from the left wing and fires a shot at goal, but it cannons off the foot of the post.

26’ OSIMHEN HITS THE POST!

Napoli are inches away from a second as Tressoldi misjudges a header and Osimhen goes through on goal, cutting inside and guiding a left-footed shot off the foot of the far post.

33’ GOAL! OSIMHEN DOUBLES NAPOLI’S LEAD!

Another outrageous individual effort! Osimhen races after a long ball, holds off his marker, and blasts a finish in from the unlikeliest of angles! It was so tight, but Consigli got completely caught out at his near post.

40’ SASSUOLO GOAL DISALLOWED

The hosts are back in it! Frattesi plays a clever curled pass through a crowded box and Lauriente is there at the back post to tuck in from close range. But VAR is checking for a possible offside and the referee heads to the pitchside monitor. There is a player in an offside position but it’s Defrel, not Lauriente. However, the striker impedes Napoli defender Olivera to impact the action and the goal is ruled out!

94′ SIMEONE DENIED

Lozano whips a beauty of a cross in and Simeone heads home from six yards, the two Napoli substitutes combining beautifully. But for the second time tonight, a VAR check decides that the goal won’t stand. Simeone was offside.

KEY STATS

• Victor Osimhen is the first Napoli player able to score in 7 matches in a row in Serie A in the three points for a win era (since 1994/95).