Napoli 3 - 0 Hellas Verona: Napoli shrug off Gonzalo Higuain absence to brush aside 10-man Verona

Posted Sunday, April 10, 2016 by PA

Napoli showed they were able to cope without the suspended Gonzalo Higuain as they defeated 10-man Verona 3-0.

Higuain, who has scored 30 times in the league this year, sat out the first of his four-game ban which was handed out after his fit of rage following a red card against Udinese when he put his hands on referee Massimiliano Irrat.

However, even though they were shorn of the division's leading marksman, each of the hosts' front three scored in a victory that always looked routine after Samuel Souprayen's dismissal in first-half stoppage-time.

Manolo Gabbiadini replaced Higuain in the starting XI and he was the first to score in the 33rd minute when he headed in a rebound after goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini had pushed Jose Callejon's volley from Marek Hamsik's cross into his path.

Napoli doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time from the spot, Lorenzo Insigne tucking the penalty away after last-man Souprayen had seen red for bringing down Callejon as he prepared to pull the trigger.

Callejon got on the scoresheet himself with 20 minutes to go by applying the finish from Omar El Kaddouri's cut back from the byeline.

The former Real Madrid forward fired wide when presented with a chance to score a fourth but it mattered little as Jose Reina had nothing to do at the other end and Napoli closed the gap on leaders Juventus to six points once again.