Napoli claimed a commanding win at the Stadio Franchi on Saturday evening. After just 5 minutes, Frank Anguissa was brought down in the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Kevin De Bruyne stepped up and sent David De Gea the wrong way to open the scoring. It was Kevin’s second goal in his opening three league matches for the club. Just a few minutes later came Rasmus Hojlund’s first goal: a delightful outside-of-the-boot pass from Leonardo Spinazzola found the Danish striker, who controlled and curled a right-footed shot inside the far post to make it 2-0. Early in the second half, another debut goal in blue arrived as Sam Beukema finished off an Anguissa assist. In the closing stages, Fiorentina pulled one back through Luca Ranieri as a consolation strike. Antonio Conte’s side remain on maximum points in the Serie A standings.
The coach reflected on the victory:
“We gave an excellent response, with a spot-on approach and we dominated the match. It’s a shame we lost focus slightly at the end. I liked most of what I saw, but we can’t afford to concede as we did in the last few minutes.
“We could’ve scored a fourth and should’ve put the game to bed, but overall I’m satisfied with the performance at a difficult place to come to.”
On Hojlund’s goal:
“Hojlund is a young player with great potential and prospects. We made a big investment in him. He did well to take his chances, but also to hold the ball up and bring the team up the pitch.
“Overall I’m pleased with everyone. We stayed focused and pressed from the start, perhaps surprising them a little. Let’s not forget we beat an opponent with a strong squad, quality players and who in recent years they’ve played in two European finals.
“This win must give us joy and energy, but at the same time remind us where we need to improve and grow in the future.”
Hojlund expressed his joy at scoring his first Napoli goal:
“I’m delighted with my debut and the goal because it helped us secure a very important win.
“I’m very happy to be at Napoli and to play in such a wonderful city. Now we need to carry this form into the Champions League. We must stay focused and work hard to prepare for the game in Manchester.”
Anguissa, once again a standout performer, served up an assist for Beukema:
“We won, which is what we wanted. We managed to put in a great display at a difficult ground. We’re happy for both Hojlund and Beukema who got their first league goals.
“This is our third straight win, but we need to take things one game at a time. Now we have the Champions League and want to be ready for the competition.”
Fiorentina 1-3 Napoli (HT: 0-2)
Scorers: De Bruyne 6 (pen), Hojlund 14, Beukema 51, Ranieri 79.
NAPOLI: Milinkovic Savic; Di Lorenzo, Beukema, Buongiorno, Spinazzola (Olivera 69); Politano (Neres 69), Anguissa, Lobotka (Gilmour 90+3), De Bruyne (Elmas 69); McTominay; Hojlund 14 (Lucca 73).
Coach: Conte.
FIORENTINA: De Gea; Comuzzo (Lamptey 88), Pongracic (Viti 90+3), Ranieri; Dodo, Mandragora, Fagioli (Fazzini 65), Sohm (Nicolussi Caviglia 65), Gosens; Kean, Dzeko.
Coach: Pioli.
Referee: Zufferli (Udine)
