24th round of the Italian championship ended yesterday evening. Quite an unusual day of the week, on Monday, two matches were played.
"Napoli", currently in third place, had a difficult time against the mid-table team "Sassuolo". Rafa Benitez's team did not have a clear advantage, and the first goal was scored only after playing for more than an hour. Duvan Zapata, who took the place of the absent Gonzalo Higuain in the starting lineup, scored in the 61st minute.
Just nine minutes later, Zapata made an assist to Marek Hamsik, who secured Napoli's victory. However, immediately after the Slovak's goal, Dries Mertens received a red card, but the opponents could not break through the hosts' defense any further.
The winners continue to lead by five points lower than the eleventh-placed "Lazio" in the rankings, while "Sassuolo", in turn, remains in twelfth place.
In the next match, "Cagliari" hosted Milan's "Inter" team. As expected, the club led by Roberto Mancini defeated the hosts in the relegation zone, but it was certainly not easy for them.
"Nerazzurri"'s triumph away was determined by precise shots from Mateo Kovacic and Mauro Icardi. Another "Inter" player, Juan Pablo Carrizo, scored an own goal, adding to the result.
Results:
"Napoli" 2 - 0 "Sassuolo" [1-0] 61' Duvan Zapata [2-0] 70' Marek Hamsik 72' Dries Mertens ("Napoli") sent off
"Cagliari" 1 - 2 "Inter" [0-1] 47' Mateo Kovacic [0-2] 68' Mauro Icardi [1-2] 74' Juan Pablo Carrizo (own goal)
