Napoli vs Lazio 5 - 2 (Serie A Goals & Highlights 2021) | Download Mp4

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Download Napoli vs Lazio 5 - 2 (Serie A Goals & Highlights 2021)

Napoli won this head-to-head for fifth place with some spectacular goals, particularly Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens, despite a Lazio fightback.

There were just two points separating these teams in fifth and sixth, although the Biancocelesti did have a game in hand to be played against Torino. Diego Demme sat out a ban, with David Ospina and Faouzi Ghoulam injured, but Dries Mertens was chosen rather than Victor Osimhen. Luis Alberto was able to start despite a bruised ankle, but coach Simone Inzaghi was still self-isolating at home after testing positive for COVID.

The game started in chaotic scenes after just five minutes. Napoli had a corner, Lazio broke with Manuel Lazzari, who went down under pressure from Elseid Hysaj and the referee waved play on. While they were protesting, VAR pointed the referee towards an incident that occurred on the earlier corner, when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic caught Kostas Manolas in the side of the head with his boot. It seemed unintentional, but the referee awarded a penalty, which Lorenzo Insigne converted against his former teammate Pepe Reina.

Napoli doubled their lead soon after. Dries Mertens controlled a long Insigne ball beautifully, spread it to the right, where Matteo Politano drilled past Reina at the near post.

Joaquin Correa was unlucky not to get Lazio back into it on 19 minutes, his finish bouncing off the inside of the upright and rolling back out.

Immobile and Di Lorenzo both had penalty appeals waved away for challenges from Politano and Adam Marusic. Piotr Zielinski had the ball in the net at the dawn of the second half, but only after he wandered offside on the Mertens assist.

Alex Meret made his first real save of the game from point-blank range on a Milinkovic-Savic dink, but Napoli countered from that move and made it 3-0 with a trademark Insigne right-foot curler into the far top corner from the edge of the box.

The fourth goal was even more spectacular, as Zielinski gathered a short throw-in, turned a defender and whipped in a ferocious cross that Mertens redirected first time into the top corner from the D. The Belgian pointed to the sky and seemed to be in tears, dedicating it to his grandmother, who died last week.

It still wasn’t over, as moments later Lazio got one back with their native Neapolitan. A corner was not cleared effectively, Andreas Pereira allowed Immobile to spring the offside trap and he curled right-footed into the far top corner.

Soon after that, Milinkovic-Savic placed a marvellous free kick over the wall and in off the underside of the bar for 4-2.

However, Napoli responded to the sudden comeback with a fifth, as Lazio gave it away cheaply in midfield, Hirving Lozano rolled across for Victor Osimhen to control and blast in at the near post, surprising Reina.