October 22, (THEWILL) – Napoli were dominant in their UEFA Europa League tie against Legia Warsaw on Thursday, but it took them until the final stages to break through, with Lorenzo Insigne’s stunning goal, Victor Osimhen, and Matteo Politano giving them a 3-0 victory.
The Partenopei needed to win this match because they had only one point from two Europa League games and were at the bottom of their group, while Legia had six points and had conceded no goals.
Juan Jesus took over at left-back after Mario Rui was suspended for his red card against Spartak Moscow, and Dries Mertens made his first start of the season.
Mertens’ strike from a tight angle was fingertipped over the bar after Chucky Lozano’s header tested the goalkeeper early on. But, from the start, Napoli dominated, pinning Legia in their own half and sending Mertens forward, whose acrobatic volley went inches wide of the goal.
Mertens and Lozano were both blocked in the same move by desperate defending, and the goalkeeper then used his legs to deflect a Lozano blast off target.
When Diego Demme unleashed a screamer off the outside of the right boot, he thought he had opened the scoring, but it swerved inches past the far top corner.
With Napoli creating but squandering chances in their must-win encounter, Luciano Spalletti introduced Victor Osimhen, increasing the pressure even more on Legia.
Insigne’s trademark curler was palmed away, and Napoli centre-back Kostas Manolas was forced to leave the game with a muscle injury not long after.
Miszta fumbled an Eljif Elmas strike, but Legia Warsaw threatened when substitute Mahir Emreli went on the counter and clipped the base of the upright with his scuffed daisy-cutter.
Napoli finally broke through moments later when Insigne scored a stunning goal. The captain smashed a half-volley into the roof of the net after Matteo Politano’s cross bounced off the turf.
Soon after, Osimhen had the ball in the net with a beautiful lob that bounced off the bar and in off the goalkeeper, but he was offside on the Insigne assist and it was ruled out before Kastrati missed a six-yard nod.
Osimhen’s goal did count moments later, as he timed his run for a give-and-go with Insigne down the right flank, beating Miszta at the near post from a difficult angle.
There was still time for a third, as Politano cut inside from the right and unleashed an unstoppable left-foot curler low into the far bottom corner in injury time.
Osimhen’s ninth goal in ten matches for the Neapolitans this season meant that the Nigerian became only the second Napoli player after Dries Mertens to score in the first three matches in a single season in European competition.
THEWILL recalls that the 22-year-old scored in the first two games against Leicester City, a comeback brace, and Spartak Moscow.
Victory against Legia left the latter at the top on six points while Napoli follow on four points, the same number of points as Kelechi Iheanacho’s Leicester while Victor Moses’ Spartak Moscow remains at the bottom of the standings on three points after matchday three.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
