Rrahmani rescues Napoli with last-gasp winner
Amir Rrahmani rescued Napoli right at the death as the reigning Serie A champion laboured to fight back and beat bottom side Salernitana 2-1 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Walter Mazzarri’s team, which had lost four of its past six matches including last weekend’s 3-0 reverse at Torino, was looking for a first home win in seven attempts, such is the extent of its decline since claiming the Scudetto under Luciano Spalletti last season.
Matteo Politano’s penalty, the club’s first league goal since 16 December, had spared its blushes before half-time after Antonio Candreva heaped more woe on the underperforming Azzurri with his first-half opener.
Mazzarri’s men were frustrated in their bid to complete the comeback, with last term’s star man Khvicha Kvaratskhelia doing his best to grab a second-half winner, seemingly to no avail.
That honour eventually fell to Rrahmani as, six minutes into second-half stoppage-time, the Kosovan centre-back capitalised on a defensive mix-up to fire Napoli up to sixth place in the table.
True to recent form, the Partenopei struggled from the get-go. Norbert Gyomber tried to catch out the home defence with a snapshot from distance in the 12th minute, but Pierluigi Gollini was alert to the danger and pushed the ball around a post.
Loum Tchaouna soon let rip with his left boot after being put through by Candreva, but again Gollini made the block.
Just before the half-hour mark Candreva fired Salernitana ahead in superb fashion. Domagoj Bradaric set him up before he put Politano on the ground and then beat Gollini with a fine finish.
Napoli took the hint and tried hard to bite back before the break, with Guillermo Ochoa keeping out Giovanni Simeone, Politano missing the mark from an excellent position and Gianluca Gaetano trying his luck from distance only for Salernitana’s Mexican goalkeeper to watch it sail wide.
Politano did level four minutes into stoppage-time, though. Federico Fazio fouled Simeone in the Salernitana box and the Italy winger made no mistake from the penalty spot.
Jens Cajuste enjoyed a double chance to turn the game in Napoli’s favour when play resumed; first the Swede headed just wide from a corner, then he smashed off-target with his right foot with Ochoa beaten.
Kvaratskhelia forced a frantic save from Ochoa in the 72nd minute as Napoli pushed harder for the win, with the Georgian coming even closer in the last 10 as he arrived from the left flank to unleash a rocket that took a deflection off Gyomber and shaved paint off a post as it went out.
Ochoa continued to fight fires, next repelling Giacomo Raspadori, but right at the death he and Fazio would make a hash of clearing a cross, allowing Rrahmani to ping in a dramatic winner.
