Napoli moved to within three points of second-placed Roma in Serie A with a 2-0 victory over Sassuolo at the Stadio San Paolo this evening.
Following a cagey start to the game, Marek Hamsik could have put Napoli ahead after 20 minutes when he spun in the box and instinctively shot at goal, with Sassuolo keeper Andrea Consigli equal to his effort.
Ten minutes later Domenico Berardi threatened for the visitors with a shot that whistled past the post before Hamsik was again denied shortly before the interval.
Duvan Zapata and Berardi went close at either end not long into the second half before Napoli broke through on the hour mark.
Zapata was the scorer, rifling in a low shot after the ball had bobbled into a shooting position just inside the area.
It was 2-0 less than 10 minutes later when Zapata teed the ball up for Hamsik and he curled into the far corner to seemingly seal the win.
However, Napoli's task of seeing the game out was hampered seconds later when Dries Mertens, just five minutes after coming on as a substitute, was sent off for a slide tackle on Simone Missiroli.
Francesco Magnanelli was close to making it a grandstand finish by halving the deficit, but his shot was kept out by Mario Andujar and Napoli saw out the remainder for their fifth league win in six games.
Three points puts Napoli five clear of Lazio in fourth, while Sassuolo, who have never won against Napoli in Serie A, stay 12th, nine points above the bottom three.
Pascal Lemesre
