MILAN, Feb 25 ― Napoli forward Arkadiusz Milik scored twice, including a crafty under-the-wall free kick, as Napoli rediscovered their scoring touch with an emphatic 4-0 win at Parma in Serie A yesterday.
Piotr Zielinski set Napoli on the way with their first away goal in the league for more than two months before fellow Pole Milik struck either side of halftime and Adam Ounas completed the scoring.
Second-placed Napoli, who had drawn their last two league games 0-0 with Fiorentina and Torino, stayed 13 points behind leaders Juventus who they host next Sunday.
Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti said that the performance was similar to the last two, except that this time his side took their chances.
“It was in line with the games against Fiorentina and Torino but this time our finishing was very good,” he said. “There are no regrets, this team is doing well and must continue like this.”
Napoli looked far more like their old selves and Zielinski put them ahead in the 19th minute when he exchanged passes with Elseid Hysaj and rolled his shot past Luigi Sepe. Their previous away goal in Serie A was in the 1-0 win at Cagliari on December 16.
Napoli continued to pour forward, were awarded free kick on the edge of the area in the 36th minute and, when the Parma wall jumped, Milik cleverly rolled it underneath them and into the net.
“I told him keep it on the ground. It was very close to the goal and it was unlikely he would have scored by going over the wall. It's something I learned from Cristiano Ronaldo,” said Ancelotti, who coached the Portuguese for two seasons at Real Madrid.
Parma won a penalty in the 56th for a foul on Bruno Alves by Kevin Malcuit but, after delaying and reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, the referee ruled that Napoli forward Jose Callejon was tripped in the build-up.
Milik pounced on a wayward back pass to add the third with an emphatic finish in the 73rd minute, his 14th league goal of the season, and substitute Ounas finished off a trademark exchange of passes to score the fourth nine minutes later.
Parma's fourth home defeat in a row left them 13th with 29 points. ― Reuters
