Scott McTominay’s early goal proved enough as Napoli made it four consecutive Serie A wins with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Cagliari, who have now gone seven league games without a win.
Napoli could not have made a better start. Inside 90 seconds, goalkeeper Elia Caprile was caught in possession by Rasmus Hojlund, who won a corner. The set piece was played short, swung towards the back post and, after a frantic scramble in which the ball struck the post, McTominay was on hand to convert from close range.
Caprile kept his side in the game shortly after with a smart save to deny Matteo Politano, but Cagliari struggled to create anything of note in the first half and failed to force a single save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic before the break.
Napoli had a chance to put the game to bed on 55 minutes when Politano broke in behind the defence, but his drilled finish went straight at Caprile. The hosts made changes in search of a second goal but were unable to find the killer touch as the game became increasingly stop-start.
Cagliari failed to register a shot on target across the entire 90 minutes and Napoli saw out the victory without too much difficulty. The win moves Antonio Conte’s side into second place in Serie A, six points behind leaders Inter, though having played one game more.
For Cagliari, the run of seven games without a win is becoming a serious concern. They could be just three points above the relegation zone if results elsewhere go against them this weekend.
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