Napoli cruised to a comfortable 4-0 victory against Cremonese on Friday.
The Azzurri took the lead with just two minutes on the clock courtesy of Scott McTominay's angled drive from the edge of the box.
After spending the first half on the front foot, Antonio Conte's side got a deserved second shortly before the break as Rasmus Hojlund's long-range effort was deflected past Emil Audero by Filippo Terracciano.
There was still time for a third in first-half stoppage time, Kevin De Bruyne getting in on the act following some impressive acrobatics from McTominay
The second period opened with Alisson firing home Napoli's fourth on the break to definitively settle the encounter.
This is what Antonio Conte had to say after the final whistle:
“We were determined to bounce back after the Lazio game. I have to say the criticism of a team that has won a Scudetto and a Super Cup in the last two seasons has been excessive this week. We've had to deal with a very difficult year with a huge number of injuries. I'm not looking for excuses – I just want to highlight the incredible amount of work that has been put into this season.
“The lads deserve credit again tonight. I'm happy with our performance and above all I'm pleased with the way they've handled this stage of the season.
“We deserve to finish the season well and show that we never lost our way and were able to conclude the season positively.”
Kevin De Bruyne also shared his thoughts after playing a starring role.
“Our aim was to win and get going again and we did that deservedly today. We're pleased with the performance and the result.
“I didn't know I'd scored my 100th goal. I'm happy it helped us win the game.
“I'm proud to give my all for this team. Now we're looking forward and will try to finish as high as we can.”
Scott McTominay, who got the ball rolling with his early opener, had his say too.
“It was important to win, no matter how. It was a deserved victory and a fine performance.
“We managed to get an early goal then afterwards we controlled the game well. Now we want to keep going like this and do our very best between now and the end of the season.”
Napoli 4-0 Cremonese (HT 3-0)
Scorers: McTominay 3, Terracciano 45 (OG), De Bruyne 45+3, Alisson 52.
NAPOLI: Milinkovic; Olivera (Beukema 54), Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Politano (Mazzocchi 53), Lobotka (Gilmour 54), McTominay, Gutierrez; De Bruyne (Elmas 75), Alisson; Hojlund (Giovane 61).
Coach: Antonio Conte.
CREMONESE: Audero, Terracciano, Baschirotto, Luperto (Folino 61), Pezzella; Floriani Mussolini (Zerbin 46), Bondo (Grassi 46), Payero, Maleh, Bonazzoli, Okereke (Vanderputte 46).
Coach: Giampaolo.
Referee: Doveri
