Adriana Gomes and Elisa Del Estal continued to shine, combing to score all three of Napoli’s goals in there 0-3 away victory over Chievo Verona.
Lineup
Dimitr Lipoff made four changes to the squad he fielded against Apulia Trani. Sabrina Tasselli returned between the sticks, relegating Matilde Copetti to the bench. Sabah Seghir, who joined the club in January, made her first start at left back, while Antonia Dulcic started over Martina Di Bari at right back. With Claudia Mauri not in the squad, Giulia Ferrandi started in the centre of the midfield.
First Half
Napoli immediately went on the offensive, winning numerous corner kicks and free kicks in the early stages. In the 7th minute, Elisa Del Estal was first to Giulia Ferrandi’s inswigning corner kick but the striker got under the ball and the header finished well over the bar.
Del Estal came close again nine minutes later. Adriana Gomes was fouled in midfield but the match official played a smart advantage with Giulia Giacobbo picking up the ball on the right wing. She crossed it into the area, where Sara Tui was waiting to lay the ball off to Del Estal. The Spaniard made a full connection on the volley but the shot was straight at Chievo Verona goalkeeper Giorgia Bettineschi.
Chievo were very physical with Gomes, fouling her in the midfield again two minutes later. Sara Tui’s cross from the left side of the midfield bounced dangerously through the crowd and hit the target, but again Bettineschi was well-positioned to make the save.
Napoli probably should have been awarded a penalty kick in the 19th minute. Giacobbo played a through ball to Del Estal on the right side of the area, and she cut the ball back to Gomes at the penalty spot. Gomes hit the ball first-time and the Chievo Verona defender appeared to block the shot with her hands, but the penalty wasn’t given.
Chievo were determined to play the ball out of the back, but struggled mightily with Napoli’s high press. The home side didn’t create their first chance until the 27th minute, and it was a speculative one at that. After winning a free kick at midfield, Martina Scuratti played a long ball into the area. Federica Veritti headed the ball clear, but it fell to Sonja Kiem outside the area. She tried to beat Sabrina Tasselli on the volley but her shot finished on the roof of the goal.
Ten minutes later, Napol opened the scoring. Veritti stepped up and simultaneously intercepted a Chievo pass and played a long ball forward to Del Estal. The forward appeared to pull herself wide with her first touch into the area, but recovered well, playing a perfect cross to the second post. Gomes dove to head in her 15th goal of the season.
The Partenopee came close to adding a second three minutes before the break. Antonia Dulcic, who made a rare start on the right side of the midfield, received a Napoli throw-in inside the Chievo area. She dribbled out from the by line before curling a sliding shot narrowly around the far post.
Dulcic showed her determination two minutes later, picking up the loose ball after Giacobbo was tackled by Chiara Mele. Dulcic’s first cross was blocked but the rebound went straight back to the midfielder. With her second cross, she picked out Gomes in the area. Gomes hit the ball first-time but pulled the shot wide of the far post.
Second Half
Napoli continued their dominating performance in the second half. The visitor’s nearly doubled their lead at the hour mark from a corner kick. Chievo cleared Sara Tui’s deep corner kick but Paolo Di Marno won the second ball in the area. Her attempt at goal was rather weak, but Del Estal redirected the shot with a backheel flick from the edge of the six yard box. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, the shot hit the upright and stayed out.
However, the forward got her retribution five minutes later from another corner kick. Substitute Sara Tamborini played an inswinging corner from the left side. Del Estal outmuscled the defender before heading the ball into the bottom corner. With her 7th goal of the season, all in the last six matches, Del Estal equalled Pinna as the second top scorer for Napoli.
Napoli put the match away seven minutes later, with Gomes scoring her team-leading 16th goal of the season, tying Ternana’s Anastasia Spyridonidou in the race for capocannoniere. Once again, the play began with Napoli pressing high and forcing a turnover in the Chievo half. Giacobbo played an incisive diagonal ball to Gomes in the area. The Portugal native fought off the tackle from Sara Tardini before striking the ball towards the top corner. Bettineschi got a hand on the ball but it wasn’t strong enough to keep the shot out.
Even with a three goal lead away from home, Napoli continued to press high and create chances. In the 88th minute, Ferrandi forced a turnover in the Chievo half before playing a through ball to Pinna in the area. The Italian turned and shot on target, but Bettineschi was well-positioned to make the save.
Napoli thought they scored a fourth a minute later. Tamborini made a lovely dribble at midfield before slipping the ball forward to Pinna. She played a diagonal through ball to substitute Serena Landa on the left side of the area, and the winger picked out Del Estal’s run to the second post. The forward tapped into the empty goal, but Landa was called offside and the goal was chalked off.
Finally, Tamborini forced yet another turnover in the third minute of stoppage time. Once again, Landa made herself available on the left edge of the area, before cutting in on her preferred right boot. The winger’s curling shot appeared to be rising towards the top corner at the far post, but a Chievo defender got a foot in at the last second to block the shot.
That was the final chance for either side as Napoli coasted to a comfortable 0-3 victory. With Lazio’s 1-0 win over Ternana, the league leaders remained two points ahead of Napoli while Ternana fell to fourth in the table. They were overtaken by Cittadella, who remained one point behind Napoli with their 0-2 victory over Tavagnacco.
Post-Match
Adriana Gomes addressed the media after the match, dedicating the match to Claudia Mauri, who sadly was not in the squad due to the passing of her father.
“First of all, on behalf of the whole team, I would like to dedicate this victory to our partner Claudia Mauri, who suffered a terrible loss during the week. We played a great game, proving to have a very specific identity thanks to which we have been in a positive series for four games. We bring home these three points and continue to work hard to achieve our goal. Playing with Pinna and del Estal is easy, the merit of my goals must be shared with them and with the whole team because we have well-established mechanisms.”
