A quickfire double in the first half helped Napoli to a 2-0 win over 10-man Torino at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino in Serie A on Monday, as they moved into the top four.
In a match dominated by the visitors, Tiemoue Bakayoko fired in from the edge of the box before Victor Osimhen added a second soon after, as Napoli made light work of the Granata.
Piotr Zielinski and Lorenzo Insigne both hit the post in a period of sustained pressure for Napoli, as Torino did little to assuage fears of being deep in a battle against relegation and saw Rolando Mandragora sent off late on.
Napoli made a blistering start to the match and were ahead with just over 10 minutes gone, as Bakayoko picked up the ball in midfield and held off Mandragora before firing across goal and into the far corner.
Just moments later, the visitors doubled their early advantage. Granata striker Andrea Belotti saw a volley blocked and Napoli launched a rapid counter, with Osimhen pouncing on a poor touch from Torino defender Nicolas Nkoulou to burst into the box and tuck home, despite pressure from Gleison Bremer.
Torino were being exposed on the counterattack, almost falling three behind on the half-hour mark. Matteo Politano was sent clear after a Granata attack broke down and raced into the box, with only a Bremer deflection denying a certain goal.
The hosts’ best chance came from a corner when Lorenzo Di Silvestri almost headed into his own goal, requiring an Osimhen clearance on the line to rescue him.
At the other end, Napoli’s pressure did not let up and Zielinski rattled the post with a strike from range, as Gennaro Gattuso’s side looked to kill the game off.
Torino had the first real chance of the second half when Cristian Ansaldi robbed Politano on the halfway line and drove into the box, forcing a good save from Alex Meret. Moments later, the keeper was called into action again to keep out a Mandragora header.
Osimhen, meanwhile, remained a threat and raced clear to close in on goal, only for his low shot to be parried by Salvatore Sirigu.
Napoli began to regain control and Insigne almost scored a wonderful individual effort, as he danced through the box and fired against the foot of the post.
Substitute Dries Mertens ought to have wrapped the victory up late on after slack Torino defending allowed Di Lorenzo to but back to him, but the Belgian blazed over with the goal at his mercy.
Torino’s task was made all the more difficult late on when Mandragora was dismissed for a second yellow card, having dragged Fabian Ruiz back.
Victory sees Napoli move above Juventus into fourth place on goal difference, whilst Torino hover above the relegation zone.
