Insigne shines as Napoli thrash Fiorentina, Spezia hold Torino

Lorenzo Insigne scored twice and set up another as Napoli thumped Fiorentina 6-0 on Sunday to move into third in Serie A.

Napoli got back to winning ways in their newly-named Diego Armando Maradona Stadium after falling to promoted Spezia in their last home match.

Gennaro Gattuso’s side came out firing despite the absence of midfielder Fabian Ruiz who tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen was also missing.

Insigne got the first goal after just five minutes following good work from Hirving Lozano and Andrea Petagna.

Fiorentina missed three chances to equalise, twice through Cristiano Biraghi, with Napoli keeper David Ospina denying Franck Ribery before the hosts notched three goals in the last nine minutes of the first half.

Petagna found Diego Demme to finish off, with Insigne then bursting through to set up Lozano for the third and Piotr Zielinski adding a fourth before the break.

Fiorentina could find no way past Kalidou Koulibaly and the Napoli defence.

Napoli were awarded a penalty after Gaetano Castrovilli fouled Tiemoue Bakayoko. Insigne converted from the spot for his ninth goal this season.

Substitute Matteo Politano completed the rout with a minute to go as Napoli got a major boost before next week’s Italian SuperCup against Juventus. Napoli move ahead of Roma who lost 3-0 to Lazio on Friday.

“We did well today because we scored all that we created,” said Gattuso.

Earlier, Torino owner Urbano Cairo blasted “the worst match of the season” as the club’s winless Serie A run at home continued with a goalless draw against minnows Spezia who played 82 minutes a man down.

Luca Vignali was sent off for the promoted side after just eight minutes in Turin for a bad tackle on Nicola Murru.

But Torino were unable to take advantage and remain 18th after just two wins all season, matching their previous worst run after 18 games. In nine home games they have drawn five and lost four.

“It was a very bad match, very bad, I thought I was seeing a different team,” said Cairo, insisting however coach Marco Giampaolo would “of course remain on the Toro bench”.

“We didn’t even have a hint of good luck,” continued Giampaolo, who took over last August.

“With a numerical advantage we should have done something more. We were tired and not very clear-headed.

“This draw, added to our position, creates great difficulties. We have no margin for error left.”

Ligurian side Spezia earned a precious point for top-flight survival following back-to-back wins against Napoli and Sampdoria. They sit 14th, five points above the relegation zone.

In Genoa, Italian forward Ernesto Torregrossa scored on his debut for midtable Sampdoria in a 2-1 comeback win over Udinese.

The 28-year-old, who has just arrived on loan from Brescia, came off the bench and got his head to a Tommaso Augello cross late on to seal the three points.

Udinese, now winless in seven, had gone ahead 10 minutes after the break through Rodrigo De Paul but Antonio Candreva struck from the spot to pull Sampdoria level against his former side.

Meanwhile, Serie A leaders AC Milan will be without French defender Theo Hernandez and Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu for Monday’s game in Cagliari after both returned positive tests for Covid-19, the club announced on Sunday.

The two players, both regulars in Stefano Pioli’s team, “tested positive in a molecular test” carried out on Saturday on the entire squad and were “immediately placed in quarantine at home”, the club said.

AC Milan are already missing Croatian striker Ante Rebic and Bosnian midfielder Rade Krunic, who have not featured since their positive tests were announced on Jan.6.

It marks a new setback for Pioli who is also without Ismael Bennacer, Alexis Saelemaekers and Matteo Gabbia, who are all injured, while striker Rafael Leao is suspended.

His side have a three-point lead over city rivals Inter at the top of the table and will take the honorary title of “winter champion” on Monday if they win in Sardinia, the 18th round of the championship marking the halfway point in the title race.

Hernandez and Calhanoglu are also likely to miss the Serie A match against Atalanta Bergamo next Saturday and the Italian Cup quarter-final against Inter on Jan.26.