Napoli continued their strong start to the Serie A season, making it four wins in four matches with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over a determined Pisa side at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Leonardo Spinazzola was the standout performer for the Partenopei, contributing a crucial goal and an assist to help secure the three points in a match that went down to the wire.
Coming into the contest on an impressive 15-match unbeaten run across Europe’s top five leagues, Antonio Conte’s men were heavy favorites. However, the newly-promoted visitors from Pisa made for a cagey opening half-hour, effectively nullifying Napoli’s attacking threats, including half-chances for key midfielders Kevin De Bruyne and Scott McTominay.
The breakthrough for the hosts finally arrived in the 39th minute. A fantastic cut-back from Spinazzola on the left flank found Billy Gilmour on the edge of the box. After a composed first touch, the Scottish international struck a powerful left-footed drive that took a deflection and sailed past a helpless Adrian Semper, marking his first goal for the club.
Pisa refused to back down, and their persistence paid off early in the second half. Following a VAR review, Sam Beukema was penalized for a handball in the box, and M’Bala Nzola calmly stepped up to convert the resulting penalty, drawing the visitors level and setting up a thrilling finale in Naples.
As both teams pushed for a winner, it was Napoli who showed their class and attacking prowess. Spinazzola once again proved decisive, finding a pocket of space on the edge of the area and sweeping a brilliant low finish into the bottom corner to restore his side’s lead.
Napoli appeared to have put the game beyond reach with eight minutes remaining. Substitute Lorenzo Lucca latched onto a pass from McTominay inside the box and fired a powerful shot into the roof of the net for his debut goal. The strike proved to be a vital buffer, as Pisa still managed to make the final moments interesting when Lorran tapped home a cut-back in stoppage time. However, it was too little, too late for the visitors as Conte’s men held on to extend their unbeaten home run in Serie A to 13 matches.
