By Jerry Mancini.
Monday evening showcased an eventful match between Napoli and Sampdoria. Napoli gave up a two-goal lead but were able to bounce back to win 4-2.
Partenopei made a strong start scoring twice in the first 16 minutes to take an early lead. Arkadiusz Milik opened the scoring, while Elf Elmas followed up shortly after.
Although Napoli made a strong start to the match, Sampdoria came back to tie the game at 2-2 with goals from Fabio Quagliarella and Manolo Gabbiadini. Quagliarella displayed great technique to score from outside the box.
A goal from Gaston Ramirez was also called back after further review from the VAR. The referee ruled a handball against Gabbiadini which was a questionable call as the midfielder didn’t seem to intentionally use his arm to gain possession of the ball.
Although the Blucerchiati worked hard to level the match, Diego Demme scored seven minutes from stoppage time to help regain the lead for Napoli. Dries Mertens scored late into added time to secure the win.
“We’re back,” said Lorenzo Insigne after their win. “We’re giving continuity to the work we do during the week with the coach. This is a victory for the group.
“The Champions League is feasible but we have to think game by game. We’ve done a lot of damage, but now we have to recover and get our season back on track.”
With the win, Napoli move up to 10th place but are still nine points away from the Champions League spots.
Sampdoria remain in 16th place, just four points above the relegation zone.
“We must continue to believe,” said Sampdoria manager Claudio Ranieri. “Quagliarella is playing well. We hope to see other similar pearls to his goal today.”