Napoli crush Cagliari 5-0 in Serie A

SSC Napoli inflicted a 5-0 drubbing on Cagliari to increase their lead at the top of Serie A to four points, though second-placed Juventus have a game in hand. For the visitors, it was a club-record 10th straight league victory.

Real Madrid veteran Jose Callejon on Monday put Napoli up 1-0 with a goal in the 29th minute and the away side led 2-0 at the break courtesy of a strike in the 42nd minute by Dries Mertens, who connected with a cross from Elseid Hysaj, reports Efe.

The goal had resonance for Mertens, coming in the same stadium in Cagliari where the Belgium international posted a hat-trick in his first match for Napoli in December 2016.

Napoli captain and attacking midfielder Marek Hamsik increased the margin to 3-0 with a goal in the 61st.

Winger Lorenzo Insigne converted a penalty nine minutes later and left-back Mario Rui scored on a direct free kick in the final minute of regulation to complete the rout.

"It was game over once we got the second goal today," Napoli head coach Maurizio Sarri was quoted as saying by the club's website.

"We were in control and never really ran any risks. I'm happy with that because the team were able to enjoy themselves after that and knock the ball about, as they do so well," he added.

The outcome leaves Cagliari in the 14th spot, just five points above the relegation zone.

The game between six-time defending champions Juventus and Atalanta in Turin was postponed due to snow. Juventus, who have 65 points, have a 13-point lead over Lazio, making the title race a two-way battle.

"Looking at the standings, I think we're doing an amazing job but it's also unknown territory for us. Napoli have never had more than 86 points in a season and have never enjoyed this sort of points average before," Sarri reckoned, according to Napoli's website.

"We'll see how we handle ourselves over the next few months, considering that we've never been in this sort of position before. Our lead over Juventus doesn't count for much. We're going to have to scrap it out point by point and Juventus are a juggernaut of a team. We have 12 games to play in which every moment and every detail could make the difference -- luck too sometimes," he said.

--IANS

pur/hs