Napoli 3-2 Bologna: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Partenopei See Off Valiant Rossoblu
Napoli maintained the eight point gap between themselves and Serie A leaders Juventus thanks to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Bologna on Saturday night as Arkadiusz Milik scored twice before Dries Mertens' 88th minute winner.
The Poland international capitalised on a scramble in the box to finish high beyond Lukasz Skorupski before Federico Santander powered a header in to equalise in the 37th minute.
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Milik restored Napoli's lead when he converted Kevin Malcuit's cross into the top right hand corner, but Bologna drew level through another set piece as Danilo rose highest to nod in.
Napoli eventually broke through for the third when Mertens caught Skorupski napping at his near post with a long range effort.
Check out 90min's roundup of the game below.
NAPOLI
Key Talking Point
With Juventus taking a stronghold of the Serie A title race and looking firm favourites to top Italy's top fight this season, Napoli will likely have to be content with a second place finish - if that's where they eventually end up.
They looked like the best of the rest on Saturday night, even if they gave away two poor goals, with Milik in particular proving that Carlo Ancelotti's side have the strength in depth to finish inside the Champions League qualification spots.
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Mertens has scored the majority of Napoli's goals in recent seasons but Milik has shown he can contribute on a more regular basis, with his strikes in this game taking him up to ten in the league this term.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Meret (6); Malcuit (7), Albiol (5), Maksimovic (6), Ghoulam (6); Callejon (6), Zielinski (7), Allan (6), Verdi (6); Mertens (7), Milik (9).
Substitutes: Ruiz (7), Rui (6), Ounas (N/A).
STAR MAN - No surprises here. Milik was lethal in front of goal and his partnership with Mertens seems to be developing well.
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The former Ajax star struggled with injuries during his first two campaigns in Italy but now looks more than capable of firing Gli Azzurri to a decent points tally.
WORST PLAYER - Without Kalidou Koulibaly in central defence, Napoli understandably looked a little more shaky, and Raul Albiol in particular could have performed better.
The Spain international was not outrageously bad but was outperformed by teammate Nikola Maksimovic and the fact that the home side conceded two goals from set pieces will not go down well with Ancelotti.
Looking Forward
Napoli have over two weeks to rest until their next league game, a home tie against mid table Sassuolo. They then have a tough run of fixtures, including games against Lazio, Milan and Sampdoria before their Europa League tie with Zurich.
