The Azzurri claim Italian Super Cup success in Riyadh
Napoli beat Bologna in the final to lift the Italian Super Cup on Monday evening. After the 2-0 win over Milan in the semi-final, the Azzurri repeated the same scoreline in the showpiece event in Riyadh. The star of the night was David Neres, who broke the deadlock just after the half-hour mark with a curling left-footed strike into the top corner. After the break, the Brazilian wrapped up the match, first stealing the ball from the Bologna defence and then finishing with a delightful chip as the goalkeeper rushed out. Napoli claimed the third Super Cup in the club’s history and the second of the Aurelio De Laurentiis era.
The Napoli president celebrated the success with praise for the team:
“We’ve settled the score with Bologna, but by winning a trophy in a very prestigious competition. We’re dedicating this victory to Napoli’s fans, who deserve this joy.
“Now we’ll continue on our path. Tonight we enjoyed ourselves and we’ve won two trophies in a single year, just like in the Maradona era. To the people of Naples, I’ll just say you should keep dreaming because together we can achieve great goals.”
Antonio Conte gave his take on the performance:
“I want to congratulate the lads because, against Milan and Bologna, they put in two outstanding performances. Tonight we really played a great match and I have to acknowledge that. We’re happy, trophies matter and being able to add another one to the cabinet after the Scudetto triumph means we’re on a very good path.
“I also would like to congratulate Bologna and Vincenzo Italiano because they’re achieving impressive results and they deserved to be here competing for this trophy.
“Now we’ll celebrate a more peaceful Christmas together with our fans. That said, we’ve got to keep working hard. We’ve made progress, but we’re not yet at the level we want to reach. It’ll take patience and there’s still a long way to go, but we’re certainly aware that we’ve got quality and we showed that again tonight, both individually and as a team.”
Two-goal hero David Neres shared his delight:
“I’m really happy with how the evening has gone, with the two goals, but above all because we won the trophy. It’s a wonderful success that the team deserved.
“These wins help us keep moving forward with confidence. We’ve got a competitive group that can do well in every competition and achieve major targets.”
Napoli 2-0 Bologna (HT: 1-0)
Scorer: Neres 39 and 57.
NAPOLI: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus (Buongiorno 84), Politano, Lobotka, McTominay, Spinazzola (Gutierrez 68), Neres (Mazzocchi 78), Elmas (Noa Lang 68), Hojlund. Coach: Antonio Conte
BOLOGNA: Ravaglia; Holm, Heggem, Lucumì, Miranda; Ferguson (Dallinga 69), Pobega; Orsolini (Dominguez 80), Odgaard (Moro 46), Cambiaghi (Rowe 69), Castro (Immobile 80). Coach: Italiano
Referee: Colombo.
Booked: Heggem, Cambiaghi, Holm, Politano.
