Sampdoria were defeated 4-2 against league leaders Napoli in a thrilling game at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in their Sunday afternoon Serie A fixture.
Gonzalo Higuain, Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Marek Hamsik were on the score-sheet for the visitors, while Eder and Joaquin Correa found the net with Mattia Cassani dismissed after receiving two bookings.
The Partenopei were quick to put the events from earlier in the week behind them, with striker Gonzalo Higuain pouncing on a terrible back pass from Edgar Barreto and firing low and hard past Emiliano Viviano in the hosts goal.
The disgraced Barreto couldn’t have imagined it getting any worse, but true to the cruel nature of the sport the Paraguayan was involved in the concession of another goal, this time bringing down Raul Albiol inside the box.
Lorenzo Insigne planted the resultant penalty in the bottom corner, beyond the reach of Viviano. There was a beacon of hope for the Blucerchiati just before half time, when a great run by Carlos Carbonero paved the way for Joaquin Correa to stride forward and slot his shot past Pepe Reina into the bottom corner.
In the second half the hope all but vanished. Two yellow cards in quick succession for Mattia Cassani saw the veteran full-back dismissed, with Marek Hamsik capitalizing almost instantly with a run in between two defenders before directing his shot into the bottom corner.
Nevertheless, hope remained present. A glancing header off Eder from a corner wasn’t dealt with and nestled into the bottom corner before substitute wide-man Dries Mertens came on to make certain of the win, sending Carbonero the wrong way and finishing delightfully into the bottom corner.
Maurizio Sarri and his players maintained their grip on the summit of Serie A, while Vincenzo Montella and Sampdoria could slip as low as 17th by the end of the weekend’s fixtures.
