Napoli confirmed their place in the Round of 32 of the Europa League with a resounding 5-0 win at home to FC Midtjylland with goals from Omar El Kaddouri, a double from Manolo Gabbiadini, Christian Maggio and Jose Callejon.
Maurizio Sarri opted to rest several first team players including Gonzalo Higuain ahead of their match against Udinese at the weekend.
The home side threatened early on with El Kaddouri and Lorenzo Insigne going close to gifting the Partenopei the lead.
It took only 13 minutes however for the home team to break the deadlock as Insigne’s pass found El Kaddouri and the Moroccan international was able to beat goalkeeper Andersen with a left footed shot.
Sarri’s men kept bombarding the away side’s goal and doubled their lead on 23 minutes when Insigne’s shot was saved by Andersen but Gabbiadini was in the right place at the right time to tuck the ball into the back of the net.
Napoli continued to keep possession with Midtjylland putting men behind the ball.
The third goal came seven minutes before half time when Ivan Strinic crossed the ball from the left hand side and the ball eventually made its way to Gabbiadini for his second consecutive brace in Europa League matches.
The second half was a case of more of the same for the Azzurri and they made it 4-0 with a galloping run from Christian Maggio all the way into the box and a shot that beat Andersen on 55 minutes
Midfielder Allan could have added a fifth minutes later but his shot from distance was saved by Andersen.
Substitute Callejon made it 5-0 with a near post header from a Mirko Valdifiori header.
Napoli’s victory means they maintain their 100% record in the group and comfortably qualify for the Round of 32.
