A rampant Napoli condemned Ajax to its worst defeat within the Champions League, a 6-1 thrashing that maintained the Serie A pacesetter’s good begin within the group stage.
Napoli’s unrelenting excessive urgent forwards and midfielders by no means gave Ajax time to construct up from the again and compelled defenders to repeatedly flip over the ball, creating probability after probability for the guests.
The rout surpassed Ajax’s earlier worst lead to Europe, a 5-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in 1980.
“It was a tough, painful night for us. Undeserving of Ajax,” stated Ajax coach Alfred Schreuder.
Napoli, which recorded its greatest away win in Europe, has now scored 13 objectives in three Group A matches this Champions League marketing campaign.
Luciano Spalletti’s workforce conceded an early objective however shortly seized whole management on the Johan Cruyff Area.
Napoli was with out injured middle ahead Victor Osimhen nevertheless it did have Giacomo Raspadori, who confirmed his class by scoring two objectives in two Nations League wins final month for Italy over England and Hungary.
“We’re actually completely happy – we have to stick with it like this and enhance day-to-day,” Raspadori advised Sky Sport.
After Mohammed Kudus deflected Kenneth Taylor’s shot into the Napoli objective to present Ajax a ninth-minute lead, it was Raspadori who equalized 9 minutes later, stooping on the far put up to go in a cross from the left by Mathias Olivera.
Defender Giovani Di Lorenzo gave Napoli the lead when he beat Jurrien Timber to a cross from the suitable by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and headed into the nook within the thirty third.
Simply earlier than halftime, Piotr Zielinski picked up the ball simply inside his personal half, sprinted via a gaping gap in Ajax’s protection and shot previous Remko Pasveer who obtained a hand to the ball however couldn’t cease the Poland midfielder scoring his third objective in as many Champions League matches this season.
The stress did not let up after the break and Raspadori grabbed his second objective within the forty seventh after Pasveer’s sloppy go to Calvin Bassey was intercepted.
Raspadori minimize via the static protection once more within the 63rd with a fast trade of passes to arrange Kvaratskhelia for Napoli’s fifth objective. Substitute Giovanni Simeone made it 6-1 with a strong close-range shot within the 81st as dejected Ajax followers poured out of the stadium. Those that stayed booed the house workforce off the pitch.
“As we speak, Napoli was higher than us,” stated Ajax captain Dusan Tadic, who was despatched off within the 74th minute for his second yellow card.
Napoli tops the group with 9 factors, three greater than second-place Liverpool which beat Rangers 2-0 on Tuesday. Ajax has three factors.