Football: 10-man Napoli cruise past Empoli in Serie A

Rome (Italy), Feb 26 (IANS) Napoli registered their eighth consecutive victory in Serie A as they sailed away with a 2-0 win over Empoli on Saturday, despite Mario Rui’s red card.

Napoli are in an electric mode since the start of the season, as they have put one foot in the Champions League last 8 after seeing off Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0, on top of a 15-point advantage on the Serie A table before Saturday’s game.

The away side did all the work in the first half as they went ahead in the 17th minute thanks to an own goal from Ardian Ismajli, before Victor Osimhen added another with a follow-up 10 minutes later, reports news agency Xinhua.

The only downside for the Partenopei was Rui’s unnecessary red card in the 67th minute as he kicked Francesco Caputo deliberately after a body check.

With the win, Napoli have potentially established an 18-point advantage over second-placed Inter Milan who visit Bologna on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Sassuolo won Lecce 1-0 away on Kristian Thorstvedt’s header.

–IANS

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