Doubles from Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon helped Napoli to a 5-0 thrashing of Club Brugge in their Europa League opener this evening.
Napoli dominated the match from the very beginning, and the Italian side wasted no time before scoring the opener, as Callejon lobbed Brugge keeper Sinan Bolat from the right-hand side after just five minutes.
The hosts added their second goal on 19 minutes, as Callejon found Mertens with a low cross, before the Belgian forward produced a neat finish from close range.
Brugge saw much of the ball but Napoli were brutal on the break, and the hosts scored again moments later as Mertens volleyed from inside the penalty area to bag his second of the match.
Brugge defender Oscar Duarte forced a good save from Pepe Reina before half time with a header, before Gonzalo Higuain fired a shot over the bar at the other end of the pitch.
The visitors continued to struggle with Napoli's attack after the break, and Marek Hamsik scored the side's fourth of the night on 53 minutes after a defensive mix-up between Bolat and Duarte.
Mertens came close to scoring his hat-trick soon after, but his effort from the left of the penalty area went narrowly wide, before Kalidou Koulibaly fired over the bar from inside the Brugge penalty box.
Napoli added their fifth goal on 77 minutes, as Callejon ran in behind the Brugge defence before firing past Bolat for his second goal of the night.
The former Real Madrid winger came close to a hat-trick before the final whistle, but his effort from close range blazed over the bar.
Stephen Topping
