Napoli's dynamic duo strikes again to increase massive Serie A lead
Reggio Emilia, Italy, Feb 17, 2023 (AFP) - Napoli took another step towards their first Serie A title since 1990 on Friday as stars Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen shot the leaders to a 2-0 win at Sassuolo and 18 points clear.
It looks only a matter of time before Luciano Spalletti's rampant side secures a Scudetto dreamed of by Napoli fans since the days of Diego Maradona.
And on Spalletti's 1,000th match as a manager, his team made no mistake at a Mapei Stadium which, with the away section closed, saw an invasion of Napoli fans in the home supporters' stands.
A seventh league win on the bounce leaves their rivals trailing way off in the distance, a whopping 62 points collected in 23 matches underlining their dominance of Italy's top flight.
The best second-placed Inter Milan can do this weekend is maintain the pre-match gap of 15 points by beating off-form Udinese on Saturday night.
Napoli's attention now turns to their Champions League trip to Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday, a run in Europe's top club competition surely a possibility given the superb form of attacking jewels Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen.
Kvaratskhelia got the ball rolling in the 11th minute in Reggio Emilia with his 10th goal of an incredible debut season in Italy's top flight, a beautiful run and low finish.
Osimhen, who had already hit the post, then doubled the hosts' lead in the 33rd minute when he collected Amir Rrahmani's pass, spun Martin Erlic, and rifled home from an improbable angle past Andrea Consigli.
The pair has now scored 28 of Napoli's 56 league goals, Osimhen netting nine times in eight league matches since the turn of the year.
Sassuolo couldn't repeat their heroics of recent weeks against ailing champions AC Milan and Atalanta but put up a decent fight on Friday night despite having to play without injured star Domenico Berardi.
Alessio Dionisi's side, which is seven points above the relegation zone in 15th, caused Napoli problems and struck the post through Armand Lauriente just after Kvaratskhelia's opener.
The match might have taken on a different look had Lauriente's close-range finish not been ruled out for Gregoire Defrel interfering with play from an offside position.
But in the end, the only low note for Napoli was Giovanni Simeone being denied a late goal for offside.