Mertens sets record as Napoli through
DRIES Mertens fired Napoli to the Italian Cup final on Saturday after netting the goal which gave his side a 2-1 aggregate semifinal win over Inter Milan and made him the club’s all-time top scorer.
Napoli will face Juventus in Wednesday’s final in Rome thanks to Belgium forward Mertens, who slotted home his 122nd goal for Napoli four minutes before half-time to make the score 1-1 on the night and give it overall victory after a 1-0 first-leg win at the San Siro in February.
“We wanted to reach the final at all costs,” Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne said.
In both sides’ first match in more than three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Christian Eriksen levelled the tie for Inter straight from a corner in the second minute and the away side continued to dominate the first half, but Mertens ended a lightning counterattack to put the hosts through at the Stadio San Paolo.
Mertens, 33, overtakes Slovak Marek Hamsik and moves seven clear of Diego Maradona, who scored 115 goals in all competitions and won two Serie A titles and the UEFA Cup over his seven tumultuous years in southern Italy.
No games had been played in Italy since March 9.
Before kickoff, a minute of silence was observed to mourn the more than 34,000 people who have died from the virus in Italy. Three medical workers wearing white lab coats stood at midfield surrounded by the teams on the center circle.
After the minute, Napoli coach
Gennaro Gattuso looked to the sky — likely remembering his younger sister, Francesca, who died last week from diabetes.
“We dedicate this win to him,” Insigne said of Gattuso.
Gattuso dedicated the victory to his sister and parents.
“It wasn’t easy today after 95 days. Everything was strange about this experience,” the former AC Milan midfielder and coach said. “When we did get back to training, it was individually then in tiny groups with social distancing. There were muscular issues. It was like training during the end of the world.”
During the warmup, Inter players wore armbands that read “#NoToDiscrimination.”
(Agencies)