Napoli’s season suffered a set-back after they were knocked out of Europe and lost further ground of second place in Serie A in the space of the last week.
The Vesuviani required a win in order to reach the Europa League quarter-finals having lost 1-0 in the first leg against Porto, and despite Goran Pandev the levelling the tie in the opening 20 minutes, it was the Portuguese side that progressed 3-2 on aggregate after Nabil Ghilas and Ricardo Quaresma punished the Partenopei for their poor finishing earlier in the match.
There was further frustration at the San Paolo as the Azzurri then lost 1-0 to Champions League qualification rival and Coppa Italia final opponent Fiorentina on Sunday evening.
Napoli dominated the opening 35 minutes of the match but were again unable to convert their opportunities with Neto having a fantastic game in the Viola goal.
The Partenopei were to be punished again with Faouzi Ghoulam being sent-off on 37 minutes after brining Marko Bakic down on the edge of the box after an error by Raul Albiol. The Algerian left-back was shown a straight red card for denying a clear scoring opportunity and Napoli were left with 10 men for almost an hour still left to play.
However they continued to push forward with 10 men at the start of the second-half and Jose Callejon, who was acting as a make-shift right-back following the send off, showed why he has been one of Napoli’s best performers this season by showing great energy breaking forward on several occasions. But with the extra man advantage Fiorentina were able to take the initiative in the latter stages of the game and eventually found a late winner with Joaquin scoring a close range header.
After failing to convert their chances in the previous two matches, Napoli showed why they are currently the second highest scorers in Serie A with a 4-2 win at bottom of the table Catania. Four first-half goals allowed the Azzurri to restore their 10 point advantage over fourth placed Fiorentina after the Gigliati lost 2-0 at home to AC Milan.
Callejon had another excellent performance as he continuously got in behind the Catania back three from balls played over the top by Marek Hamsik and Jorginho and the Spaniard also set up Duvan Zapata for his first 2 Serie A goals.
While Callejon was impressive, he was helped out by Mariano Andujar for his 11th league goal this season. The Catania goalkeeper comically rushed out of his goal after a Lorenzo Insigne ball into the box and ran straight into Nicola Legrottaglie, allowing the former Real Madrid man to score into an empty net. The Argentina international, who will join Napoli in the summer, was subsequently jeered by the home support every time he touched the ball.
Another stand-out performer against the Elefantini was Henrique, who scored Napoli’s third goal of the game from a spectacular half-volley from the by-line that looped over Andujar into the far top corner. It was also his first goal for Napoli and is well worth searching for on YouTube.
Like fellow January arrivals Ghoulam and Jorginho, the Brazilian has fitted in well in Naples and has been important in covering for injuries showing his versatility having played in midfield, centre-back and at right-back during his short spell at the club.
The Vesuviani were unable to see the game out in the second-half in the way they would have hoped to as the Sicilian side scored two goals from set-piece situations. But Napoli were good value for their first ever victory at Catania in Serie A having failed to win in all 12 of their previous visits.
Having bounced back from the disappointments against Porto and Fiorentina at the Stadio Angelo Massimino, Napoli now head into Sunday evening’s showdown against Juventus having restored some confidence. Meanwhile, the Partenopei’s prospects of ending Juve’s 22 game unbeaten run in Serie A has also been boosted with Capocannoniere leader Carlos Tevez to miss the match at the San Paolo through suspension.
