On 28 February, one of the matches of the 21st round of the Italian football championship took place. Sassuolo (Italy) and Napoli (Naples) met.
Italian Championship, 21st round
Sassuolo (Italy) - Napoli (Naples) - 1:6 (1:3)
Goals: Racic (17) - Amir Rahmani (29), Osimhen (31), Osimhen (41), Osimhen (47), K. Kvaratskhelia (51), K. Kvaratskhelia (75).
In an exciting Serie A match between Sassuolo and Napoli at the MAPEI Stadium - Città del Tricolore, fans witnessed some impressive attacking football. The halftime score of 1:3 in favour of Napoli set the tone for the team's dominant performance. The match started with Sassuolo taking the lead in the 17th minute thanks to a goal from U. Racic. However, Napoli quickly responded with goals from A. Rrahmani in the 29th minute and V. Osimhen in the 31st and 41st minutes respectively. The first half ended with Napoli in firm control. In the second half, Napoli continued to attack and Osimhen completed his hat-trick in the 47th minute.
In the 51st minute, K. Kvaratskhelia added to the score, giving Napoli the lead. In an attempt to change the game, Sassuolo made substitutions: U. Racic was replaced by K. Kvaratskhelia. Racic was replaced by K. Volpato, and J. Doig came on in place of F. Missori in the 56th minute. "Napoli also made changes: A. Rrahmani was replaced by Nathan and M. Politano gave way to G. Raspadori in the 62nd minute. In the 75th minute Kvaratskhelia scored his second goal of the match, further increasing Napoli's advantage. In the 76th minute, G. Simeone came on in place of V. Osimhen and H. J. Traore replaced P. Zielinski. Sassuolo made additional substitutions: N. Bayrami and R. Tressoldi replaced G. Defrel and M. Cumbulla in the 77th minute. Napoli also made a substitution: S. Lobotka replaced L. Dendoncker in the 80th minute. In the 87th minute, A. Pinamonti came on in place of J. Kumi, but it was not enough to affect the outcome of the match. The final score of 1:6 in favour of Napoli underlined their dominance throughout the game. As a result, Napoli moved up the Serie A standings, while Sassuolo will try to regroup and bounce back in the next match.
The following matches await the rivals in the next round: Verona vs Sassuolo, Napoli vs Juventus.
| Sassuolo | Napoli | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Kicks to the goal | 9 |
| 5 | Kicks | 25 |
| 2 | Blocked shots | 10 |
| 2 | Penalty kicks | 19 |
| 3 | Penalty kicks | 6 |
| 3 | Offences | 5 |
| 5 | Corner | 9 |
| 0 | Offsides | 3 |
| 29% | Ball possession | 71% |
| 0 | Yellow cards | 0 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 3 | Keeper saves | 1 |
| 264 | Total assists | 677 |
| 186 | Accurate assists | 616 |
| 70% | Accuracy of passes | 91% |