Fiorentina vs Napoli: Napoli extend perfect start

Fiorentina vs Napoli - a fixture that exudes Italian footballing excellence. Some of the greatest names to grace the Serie A have adorned the purple of Fiorentina and the azure blue of Napoli; Gabriel Batistuta, Roberto Baggio and Diego Maradona, to name a few. And it is their success that emerging strikers Dusan Vlahovic and Victor Osimhen will be chasing in the years to come.

Much of the pre-match talk was centered around the two hitmen that have earned the hearts of their club and the eyes of Europe’s elite. Over the summer, both sides switched their head coach - Napoli in a more streamlined manner than their opposition. Yet, both were embarking on their best starts to a Serie A campaign in years.

Grey clouds stretched over the Firenze sky matching the opening 25 minutes of the encounter; dull and depressing. Napoli looked hungover from their first defeat of the season, at the hands of Spartak Moscow, on Thursday and Fiorentina held onto the ball but rarely penetrated Spalletti's formidable backline.

It was the side that was marginally on top that found the breakthrough. Captain, Christian Biraghi lofted his corner deep towards Vlahovic who off-balance managed to stab the ball back into the six-yard box teeing off nicely for centre-half Martinez Quarta to volley home Fiorentina into the lead.

Martinez went from hero to villain within the space of ten minutes as he failed to deal with the ever-present threat of Osimhen and tumbled him down in the penalty box gifting Napoli the perfect chance to gain something from a first-half where they performed so abjectly.

La Viola goalkeeper, Dragowski had other ideas as he magnificently denied Insigne from the spot and hurled himself towards the second attempt, but Hirving Lozano lashed in from a tight angle to draw the score level at the break.

Luciano Spalletti's stern words at the interval must have done the trick as Napoli found themselves in front at the Stadio Artemio Franchi just five minutes into the second half. Halloween came early for the Partenopei as Zielinksi provided the trick as he feinted walking away from the ball to deliver quickly behind the sleeping Fiorentina defence and Rrahmani the treat with his guided header into the far corner as he ghosted beyond the defensive line.

Matteo Politano's introduction in the 56th minute gave Fiorentina no respite as his direct play down the right-hand side tormented Biraghi for the remaining 30 minutes of the contest. Kalidou Koulibaly shut down the Vlahovic throughout the 90 minutes and brought him down a peg or two in the process. Another marvellous display from one of the best central defenders in the world that lives up to Spalletti's comment "if we all had a bit of Koulibaly, life would be easier" and it certainly seems that way for his time in the Diego Armando Maradona dugout so far.

Napoli held on to add another win this season making it 7 wins from 7 in a Serie A season for just the 2nd time in the club's history. The league's most watertight defence proved their resoluteness despite a strong challenge from a much improved Fiorentina outfit and regardless of Spalletti playing down his side's chance at the Scudetto that doesn't stop the Partenopei from dreaming big.

Vincenzo Italiano can take solace from the fact his side have only lost to Roma, Inter and Napoli this season as they remain in a tidy 5th place. However, Fiorentina's healthy start to the 2021/22 campaign will be marred by another instance of racism in Serie A.

As per DAZN reports, Victor Osimhen, Kalidou Koulibaly and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa were all subject to racist abuse from the Fiorentina 'supporters' and unfortunately this isn't a first for Fiorentina nor Italian football as just weeks ago AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan suffered the same abuse from Juventus 'fans'.

The league's overwhelming problem with racism continues to tarnish its reputation worldwide and is so very damaging to the players that have to face it every time they step foot onto the field of play.