Tanguy Ndombele scored his first for SSC Napoli, while Giuseppe Ambrosino and Alessio Zerbin added late goals to put a bow on a successful friendly against Juve Stabia on Wednesday.
The festivities began with stadium announcer Decibel Bellini introducing Napoli’s eight summer signings. The players were greeted to a warm welcome in a packed Stadio Maradona, including a rendition of Saro Con Te as the players walked off the pitch.
For Luciano Spalletti, the friendly, which was free to air on the club’s official Facebook page, was an opportunity to give back to the Napoli faithful.
The presence of the fans underlines their love for these colours. We bounce back the love they transit to us, we must repay the love.
The friendly also gave the Napoli coach an opportunity to assess his new talent, who understandably lacked chemistry in their first competitive match together.
Giacomo Raspadori, Tanguy Nombele, Adam Ounas and Giovanni Simeone all came close in the first half, but the best chance for either side fell to Luca Pandolfi. The Juve Stabia striker tried an audacious chip from midfield and would have scored had it not been for a desperate intervention from a retreating Salvatore Sirigu.
Ndombele broke the deadlock in the 57th minute, showcasing his ability to finish with an powerful yet accurate strike into the bottom corner. Ndombele was amongst the nine players to be removed in the 76th minute.
Their replacements included Davide Marfella, Karim Zedadka, Giuseppe Ambrosino and six primavera players. Ambrosino doubled Napoli’s lead in the 82nd minute after former Primavera teammate Alessandro Spavone dispossessed Daniele Altobelli at midfield. Ambrosino pushed the ball past the Juve Stabia back line before calmly rolling the ball into the bottom corner.
Alessio Zerbin sealed the victory in the final minute of the match. Gennaro Iaccarino intercepted a pass a midfield before Zerbin broke into the Juve Stabia half. Only three days after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia stunned the Maradona with a gorgeous tiraggiro, Zerbin beat Edoardo Sarri with an impressive curling effort of his own.
The victory concluded a successful event as Napoli continues to restore credibility with its fans. Napoli return to training at the Konami Training Centre at Castel Volturno on Thursday to prepare for Sunday’s match against ACF Fiorentina.
