[ad_1]
SALERNO, Italy, Oct.31 (Reuters) – Napoli retained the Serie A top spot with a 1-0 win at Salernitana on Sunday, but they had to work hard against the relegation fighters as Piotr Zielinski scored a winner disjointed and both teams had players sent off late in the game.
The result leaves Luciano Spalletti’s undefeated side with 31 points, three ahead of second-placed AC Milan, who visit AS Roma late in the game on Sunday. Salernitana is 19th with seven points.
Napoli struggled to threaten in the absence of injured top scorer Victor Osimhen and captain Lorenzo Insigne, who was only fit enough for the bench, but they eventually broke through in a chaotic fashion in the 61st minute.
Substitute Andrea Petagna headed against the bar, the ball was cleared to Mario Rui and the defender’s shot deflected into Zielinski’s path for a point blank finish.
It was Napoli’s first shot on target and proved sufficient for a valuable victory, but there were more incidents to come as Salernitana midfielder Grigoris Kastanos and Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly received red cards in the last 20 minutes.
Earlier on Sunday, Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic scored a hat-trick to kick his seventh-place side to a 3-0 victory over a Spezia side stuck in the relegation zone. Fiore has 18 points.
The 21-year-old Serbian’s tally for 2021 now stands at 25 goals, a record only Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich (36 goals) and Erling Haaland (26) of Borussia Dortmund (26) do better in Europe’s top five leagues. .
Empoli moved up to 10th, tied for 15 points with Juventus, after coming from behind to beat 12th-placed Sassuolo, while Genoa and Venezia, both of whom sit just above the drop zone. , drew 0-0. (Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie; Editing by Ken Ferris)
[ad_2]
