An early strike from Scott McTominay was sufficient for Napoli to carry onto as Antonio Conte and his group picked up a 1-0 victory away in opposition to Cagliari in on Friday night; their fourth win on the spin and a end result that has despatched them into second place within the league desk.
McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne had been in a position to begin alongside one another for the primary time in virtually 5 months, relationship again to a 3-1 victory over league leaders Inter in October. The Fifteenth-placed Cagliari boasted two just lately called-up Italy internationals in Elia Caprile and Marco Palestra. Napoli had 4 of their camp: Alex Meret, Alessandro Buongiorno, Leonardo Spinazzola and Matteo Politano.
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Antonio Conte’s facet had received all three of their earlier Serie A matches heading into tonight’s recreation, all by 2-1 margins, whereas the hosts had been with out a win throughout their final six.
It took simply over 60 seconds for McTominay to seek out the web on his return to the beginning line-up. The Scotland worldwide bought his facet forward from the primary nook of the sport, which went quick to Politano and pinballed across the space earlier than the Scotland worldwide managed to faucet in on the goalline.
CAGLIARI, ITALY – MARCH 20: Scott Francis Mctominay of Napoli scores his objective 0-1 throughout the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and SSC Napoli at Stadio Sant’Elia on March 20, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photograph by Enrico Locci/Getty Pictures)
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From there, the primary half grew to become a reasonably evenly contested, albeit barely scrappy affair. Conte was twice visibly irritated by misplaced passes from Buongiorno and Gilmour out of the again, giving possession away far too cheaply.
Napoli’s solely different shot on course of the primary half got here from a reasonably tame Politano free-kick, whereas Cagliari got here closest via Sebastiano Esposito, who flashed an effort throughout the face of Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s objective from a good angle.
De Bruyne virtually bought the higher of Caprile with a low, pushed effort from the sting of the world, however the just lately called-up Italy worldwide was in a position to parry and his defenders had been in a position to clear ultimately.
CAGLIARI, ITALY – MARCH 20: Alberto Dossena of Cagliari and Rasmus Højlund of Napoli battle for the ball throughout the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and SSC Napoli at Stadio Sant’Elia on March 20, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photograph by Enrico Locci/Getty Pictures)
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Napoli noticed a glimpse of what their star gamers are able to when McTominay, De Bruyne and Politano linked up with some lovely one-touch play within the Cagliari space, however Caprile did properly to smother his compatriot when he discovered himself on the sting of the six-yard field.
Cagliari haven’t received any of their video games this season after they have been trailing half-way, and that proved to be the case once more regardless of their finest efforts on Friday night.
Fabio Piscane’s winless run has now been prolonged to seven matches, with simply two factors earned over that interval, whereas Conte and his group have now received 4 in a row and at the moment discover themselves in second place within the league desk with Milan as a result of play on Saturday.
Cagliari 0-1 Napoli
McTominay 2’
CAGLIARI, ITALY – MARCH 20: Scott Francis Mctominay of Napoli celebrates his objective 0-1 with the team-mates throughout the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and SSC Napoli at Stadio Sant’Elia on March 20, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photograph by Enrico Locci/Getty Pictures)