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February 25, 2015

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Napoli closes in on Roma for Euro berth

SECOND-HALF goals by Duvan Zapata and Marek Hamsik guided Napoli to a 2-0 win over Sassuolo and saw it close to within three points of Roma in Serie A on Monday.

The later match saw Inter Milan’s revival under Roberto Mancini continue as it recorded its third successive win with a 2-1 victory at relegation-threatened Cagliari.

Napoli, which is just three points in arrears of Roma, managed to hold on despite midfielder Dries Mertens being sent off only six minutes after coming on as a substitute for a tackle from behind on Simone Missiroli.

For Napoli it was its fifth win in six matches and while the 12 point gap to leader and defending champion Juventus might appear insurmountable the gap with Roma for the second automatic Champions League spot — a goal of coach Rafael Benitez — is certainly within reach. It could take a significant step towards that goal next week when an ailing Roma hosts Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico.

Until Inter’s patchy win at Cagliari, Carlos Tevez had been leading the race on 14 goals but he has been joined by fellow Argentinian Mauro Icardi. Mateo Kovacic got Inter off the mark when he fired a loose ball past Zeljko Brkic after Icardi lost control of Lukas Podolski’s cross.

Icardi’s 14th goal of the campaign was a fine individual effort. The Argentinian ran on to a through ball on the right before stopping and sending a curling shot into Brkic’s top right-hand corner.


 

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