Local hero Vergara shines again as Napoli beats Fiorentina but injury crisis deepens
MILAN (AP) — Antonio Vergara gave Napoli supporters another reason to cheer amid a deepening injury crisis at the Serie A defending champion on Saturday.
Vergara scored a wonder goal in the Champions League midweek and weighed in with a goal and an assist in Serie A to help Napoli beat Fiorentina 2-1.
That was Napoli’s first win in four matches in all competitions, and cut the gap to Serie A leader Inter Milan to six points.
Inter was playing at Cremonese on Sunday.
Napoli was looking to rebound from being eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday after a 3-2 loss to Chelsea.
Vergara scored his first goal for Napoli in that defeat and he added to that with his first Serie A goal on Saturday, in the 11th minute. Rasmus Højlund was blocked from collecting a long ball by Fiorentina defenders but that allowed Vergara to latch onto it and sprint clear before drilling into the bottom right corner.
The locally born midfielder leapt over the advertising hoardings and onto the track to celebrate with the fans.
Fiorentina came close to equalizing moments after the host should have doubled its lead but Roberto Piccoli headed a free kick off the post and, as the action continued, Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret pulled off an incredible save to parry Albert Guðmundsson’s header at point-blank range.
However, also in that move, Giovanni Di Lorenzo landed awkwardly on his left knee, which appeared to buckle under him. The Napoli captain was clearly in agony and was taken off on a stretcher to an ambulance.
Napoli has struggled with injuries all season and the players sidelined include Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa, David Neres, Billy Gilmour, Matteo Politano and Amir Rrahmani.
Napoli doubled its lead at the start of the second half when Vergara picked out Miguel Gutiérrez on the right and he cut inside past Fiorentina defender Robin Gosens before curling into the far bottom corner.
Manor Solomon reduced the deficit in the 57th minute, tapping in the rebound after Meret parried Piccoli’s attempt.
Fiorentina remained 18th in Serie A, one point from safety.
Berardi’s back
Domenico Berardi had a great return to the starting lineup by scoring and forcing an own goal as Sassuolo won at Pisa 3-1. Berardi’s first start since November followed a hamstring strain.
Sassulo climbed up to 11th while Pisa remained rooted to the bottom of the table, four points from safety.
Hellas Verona, in penultimate place, was playing at mid-table Cagliari later.
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