Victor Osimhen smashes hat-trick as Napoli put Sassuolo to the sword
The Neroverdi had failed to find the back of the net in their last three Serie A matches against Napoli - the law of averages, therefore, suggested that they would avoid a record-breaking fourth successive game without scoring against the Partenopei.
In the end, it took them fewer than 16 minutes to do so when, during a rare foray forward from the hosts, Hamed Traorè’s soft clearance fell to Uroš Račić 20 yards from goal. From there, the Serbian curled in an unstoppable strike to net his first goal for the club.
The home side had also only won two of their previous 21 Serie A encounters with Napoli, and that run seemed to weigh on their minds. Despite taking the lead so early in the game, they began to retreat, and Napoli took full advantage to turn the game on its head.
Shortly before the half-hour mark, the visitors came alive in attack. Matteo Politano was given space on the right to play a smart ball into André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, whose cleverly flicked pass from the byline allowed the marauding Amir Rrahmani to level things up from close range.
A mere two minutes later, Napoli were ahead. Another wonderful, free-flowing move saw Politano heavily involved again, this time cutting back for Osimhen to tuck home - the Nigerian has now scored in all of Francesco Calzona’s first three games in charge.
It is difficult to see Osimhen staying at Napoli beyond the current campaign but for now, he is very much part of the club’s late assault on UEFA Champions League qualification and, shortly before HT, he showed exactly why so many clubs will be chasing his signature. Again, Politano’s neat pass after finding a pocket of space was duly dinked in by the centre-forward to make it 3-1 at the break.
It is fair to say that Napoli's Scudetto defence has not gone to plan this season, and it will soon be mathematically impossible for them to defend their crown. However, where there is Osimhen, there is still an unrelenting goal threat in this outfit.
Within 120 seconds of the restart, Sassuolo inexplicably attempted to play out from the back through Ruan Tressoldi, who gave the ball straight to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian subsequently laid the ball across for Osimhen to complete his treble in simple fashion.
Kvaratskhelia then took it upon himself to rub salt in the Sassuolo wounds with two goals of his own. First, he embarked on a wonderful solo run and arrowed a finish into the far corner before lashing in his team's six of the night from just inside the 18-yard box.
That was the icing on top of a fantastic performance from Napoli, who claim their first Serie A away win since November. Sassuolo, meanwhile, remain in the relegation zone, with their goal difference taking a battering as they look to beat the drop.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Victor Osimhen (Napoli)