Napoli defeated Slovan Bratislava 3-0 at Stadio San Paolo on Thursday night to book their place in the last 32 of the Europa League.
It didn’t take long for the Azzurri to take the lead, with Marek Hamsik setting up Dries Mertens to drill the ball into the back of the net from just outside the box.
Hamsik was on the scoresheet himself ten minutes later to make it 2-0, when Mertens returned the favour and squared the ball for him to side foot into the back of the net.
After several more Napoli attempts, they finally wrapped up the game with a quarter of an hour remaining when Duvan Zapata headed home after being found by Faouzi Ghoulham.
Did we get our ratings right? Give us your say in the comments below.
Napoli
Mariano Andujar – 7 – Solid
A routine night for the keeper, with Slovan only having one shot on target all night.
Christian Maggio – 7 – Lively
Quite lively down the right as usual and was rarely troubled from a defensive point of view.
Kalidou Koulibaly – 7 – Not tested
The big Frenchman was like a rock at the back and kept possession well as his team had most of the ball
Miguel Britos – 7 – Assured
Was assured at the back as he and Koulibaly defended well together throughout the game.
Faouzi Ghoulam – 8 – Presence
Did well to get forward throughout the game and set up the third goal with a good cross for Zapata.
Gokhan Inler – 7 – Assured
Protected the back four well and started off attacks with his range of passing.
Walter Gargano – 7 – Solid
Partnered Inler well in the centre and was involved in a number of the chances that Napoli created.
Jose Callejon – 6 – Quiet
A quiet night for the Spaniard and didn’t really get into the game as much as he would have liked.
Dries Mertens –8 – Constant Threat
Used his pace to great effect and was involved throughout the match, scoring once and assisting another before being substituted.
Marek Hamsik –7.5 – Creative
Took his goal well, found himself in some dangerous positions and linked up well with Mertens throughout the game.
Duvan Zapata –7 – Progressed
A good night’s work for the Colombian, who will be pleased to get himself on the scoresheet again.
Substitutes
Jonathan De Guzman – 6 – Tidy
Came on and was tidy in possession as Napoli looked to kill off the game.
Giandomenico Mesto – N/A
Gonzalo Higuain – N/A
Slovan Bratislava
Dusan Pernis – 6 – Unlucky
Couldn’t do anything about any of the goals and tried to keep the score down as much as possible.
Erik Cikos – 6 – Fair
Kept Callejon fairly quiet but was part of a defence that looked outclassed by the Serie A side.
David Hudak – 5 – Faulty
Was dragged out of position by the likes of Mertens’ and Hamsik’s movement and looked overawed all game.
Nicolas Gorosito – 5.5 – Exposed
Slightly better than his centre back partner but still couldn’t do anything to stop Napoli’s attacking threat.
Tomas Jablonsky – 5 – Struggled
Struggled against pace and didn’t receive the protection he wanted from his forward players.
Kristian Kolcak – 6 – Decent
Got forward when he could and was involved in the little bright play that Slovan created.
Samuel Stefanik – 6 – Quiet
Couldn’t get his foot on the ball enough as he would’ve liked and spent most of his time defending.
Igor Zofcak – 5 – Outclassed
Was very quiet and looked out of his depth before being substituted just after the hour.
Marko Milinkovic – 5 – Poor
Didn’t track back well enough to help out his defence against the pace of Napoli.
Frantisek Kubik – 6.5 – Fair
Looked like one of the only players capable of producing anything creative for Slovan.
Lester Peltier – 5 – Tried
Tried to get involved but was starved of any real service throughout the game.
Substitutes
Filip Duris – 6 – Quiet
Didn’t really get involved in the game.
Juraj Halenar – N/A
Lukas Gasparovic – N/A
