RIYADH (AFP) – Napoli put aside their recent troubles Friday by reaching the Italian Super Cup final with a convincing 3-0 win over Fiorentina in Riyadh.
Giovanni Simeone opened the scoring in the 22nd minute at a sparsely-populated Al-Awwal Park before Alessio Zerbin ensured Napoli’s passage with two late goals, his first for the Italian champions.
The success was a rare bright moment in what has been a disastrous season for Napoli, who are 20 points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan and have won just five times since Walter Mazzarri replaced Rudi Garcia in November.
“I don’t know if this is a turning point,” said Simeone to Mediaset.
“What really matters is the attitude we showed today. We’re a team with heart and soul.”
Fiorentina had plenty of the ball but struggled to break down Napoli, and Jonathan Ikone’s missed penalty just before half-time summed up a bad night for Vincenzo Italiano’s team.
“When you lose 3-0 you can only tip your hat to the winners,” said Italiano.
“Unfortunately we’ve started getting a bit sterile again… but until the 84th minute we were in the running and I thought we could get back in it.”
