Milik, Mertens star as Napoli outclasses Benfica

MILAN: Arkaduisz Milik struck his third Champions League goal and Dries Mertens hit a brace as Napoli staked an early claim for a place in the last

Milik, signed as a replacement for Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain, headed a brace in a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Dinamo Kiev a fortnight ago to hand coach Maurizio Sarri his maiden win in

Sarri had warned of the threat posed by the Portuguese champi

But despite glimpses of promise and a brilliant consolation goal by 19-year-old sensation Goncalo Guedes, the visitors were no match for last season's Serie A runners-up

Twice in the opening minute Milik pounced on lobs over the defence, the Pole coming closest when he toe-poked a tame shot at

five minutes but Kostas Mitroglou's close-range snapshot was parried by Pepe Reina, who then saved the Greek striker's drive from

The move saw Raul Albiol pull up injured for the hosts, prompting Sarri to hand Serbian Nikola Maksimovic an unexpected debut

- session prompted a chorus of jeers but once Andre Almeida had skied a speculative effort over Reina's

Jose Callejon was poised to pull the trigger on Dries Mertens's Grimaldo's timely intervention

It gave Napoli a corner, and from Faouzi Ghoulam's delivery Marek Hamsik was on hand at the near post to glance a header past former

When Lisandro Lopez hauled down Mertens just inside the area, the Belgian's superb curling free kick from outside the area left

Three minutes later, Milik stepped up to score from the spot

Vitoria replaced central mid Salvio, and minutes later Napoli stretched their lead to 4-0 after Cesar spilled Callejon's right wing cross to see Mertens convert at the

minutes and only three minutes later pounced on Jorginho's poor pass back

Napoli tired in the final five minutes and when Salvio's pace took him past Ghoulam, a soft

It was Benfica's second consolation of the night but might not be enough to rescue a group campaign that started with a 1-1