October 29, (THEWILL) – After Fabián Ruiz scored the opening goal in the 18th minute, Lorenzo Insigne converted two penalties to help Napoli beat Bologna 3-0 on Thursday and draw level with AC Milan at the top of the Serie A table.
THEWILL recalls that the Rossoneri beat Torino 1-0 on Tuesday to ascend to the summit but Napoli climbed ahead of Milan on goal difference with the victory over their visitors on Thursday.
Luciano Spalletti’s side had dropped its first points of the season at Roma last weekend and needed this victory to keep their impressive start to the 2021/2022 campaign going.
Bologna had only won one of its previous six games, but it was a convincing 3-0 win over Lazio, and it pushed Milan all the way over the weekend, despite playing with nine men, before losing 4-2.
Because Spalletti was red-carded after the final whistle in Rome, as the referee deemed his applause sarcastic, despite Spalletti’s vehement protests that it was genuine, he was made to watch his side handle their business from the stands.
Napoli took the lead after Bologna coughed up possession on the outside of its area and the ball was passed to Fabián Ruiz, who curled it into the upper left corner.
Bologna also gifted Napoli the second goal four minutes before halftime, when defender Gary Medel handled the ball and Insigne stepped up to convert the penalty kick into the bottom left corner.
In the 62nd minute, Inisgne scored his second penalty after Ibrahima Mbaye was found to have tripped Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen in the area as the Super Eagles’ forward tried to carve out a goal-scoring opportunity.
Osimhen’s team-mate André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, very nearly added to the scoreline in Napoli’s favour but the midfielder struck the crossbar.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
