Napoli moved seven points clear at the top of Serie A after Sunday’s 2-0 win at 10-man Sampdoria, who paid tribute to deceased greats Gianluca Vialli and Sinisa Mihajlovic.
Victor Osimhen poked Napoli ahead in the 19th minute before Eljif Elmas sealed the points with a perfectly-place penalty with eight minutes remaining at a soaking Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa.
The win extend Napoli’s lead on Juventus, winners over Udinese on Saturday who travel to Naples on Friday, and AC Milan who are a further point back in third ahead of their home match with Roma later on Sunday.
After netting his 10th league goal of the season Nigeria foward Osimhen was also the victim of a brutal foul from Tomas Rincon, who was sent off in the 38th minute for chopping the 24-year-old down as he charged towards goal.
Luciano Spalletti’s side bounced back from their defeat at Inter Milan on Wednesday and dampened an emotional evening for Sampdoria whose fans said goodbye to two of their most popular former players.
