De Bruyne strikes as Napoli crush Cremonese to put Inter title celebrations on hold

[p]Antonio Conte’s side were clearly eager to make amends following their first home defeat of the season in Serie A last weekend, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cremonese/KUzfp5N3/"]Cremonese[/a]’s defence were put under pressure right from the off.[/p][p]After just two minutes played, the hosts spurned a couple of golden opportunities. Firstly, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/audero-emil/fwyieeh8/"]Emil Audero[/a] made an impressive block to deny [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mctominay-scott/A7S3y397/"]Scott McTominay[/a] before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hojlund-rasmus/0lk9Mt7D/"]Rasmus Højlund[/a] blazed the ball narrowly over the crossbar when in a great position.[/p][p][b]However, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/napoli/69Dxbc61/"]Napoli[/a] found the back of the net only a minute later thanks to McTominay’s excellent 20-yard strike, which secured his ninth league goal of the season.[/b][/p][embed guid="e1f32e70-b0bd-4d58-9b60-146cd28adbf5" url="https://x.com/en_sscnapoli/status/2047777854100746429" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]The hosts continued to boss the contest as the first half progressed, and nobody could have been surprised when the Azzurri doubled their advantage with half time approaching as Højlund’s heavily deflected effort rolled into the bottom corner.[/b][/p][p]The situation would become even worse for Marco Giampaolo’s side before the interval, as Napoli added a third just moments later.[/p][p][b]McTominay acrobatically kept the ball in play in remarkable fashion before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-bruyne-kevin/MsPs6OI5/"]Kevin De Bruyne[/a] dispossessed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maleh-youssef/CnRzW1VM/"]Youssef Maleh[/a] and steered the ball past Audero from close range to the delight of the home crowd.[/b][/p][p]The three points were all but sealed just seven minutes into the second half, as the hosts bagged a fourth goal following a lightning-quick counter-attack.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alisson-santos/tYb4OysQ/"]Alisson Santos[/a] received the ball from goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/milinkovic-savic-vanja/Mw0wd0xM/"]Vanja Milinković-Savić[/a] well inside his own half, and he proceeded to dribble through Cremonese’s central defence on a glorious run, before firing the ball home like it was a training session.[/b][/p][image alt="Match momentum" id="54b5c75e-2327-48a3-8678-cff004430ef3" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="4fa641cb-3f6b-47e1-8637-ce0da5625e1a" original-width="1920" original-height="1080" /][p]With the game sewn up, the one-way traffic continued right up to the final whistle. Audero pulled off an excellent save to deny substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gilmour-billy/MPhh66QA/"]Billy Gilmour[/a], while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rrahmani-amir/8Sw4X8wk/"]Amir Rrahmani[/a]’s header struck the woodwork.[/p][p]Conte’s side was then awarded a penalty following a handball with just under 10 minutes remaining, but McTominay’s spot kick lacked conviction and was saved. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, as the damage was already done.[/p][p]Napoli have moved up to second place in the Serie A table with the emphatic victory. However, the defending champions still sit nine points behind league leaders [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter/Iw7eKK25/"]Inter Milan[/a], who have a game in hand.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="8a7f7141-901f-4a82-b612-35417543a4be" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="12937c30-06ea-4410-8434-ee43ff64e438" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Meanwhile, Cremonese’s atrocious run of form keeps them right in the thick of the battle to avoid relegation. With just one victory in their last 20 matches, La Cremo remain one position above the drop zone, thanks to a better head-to-head record over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lecce/G8lYsMgU/"]US Lecce[/a].[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-bruyne-kevin/MsPs6OI5/"]Kevin De Bruyne[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/napoli/69Dxbc61/"]SSC Napoli[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/cremonese-KUzfp5N3/napoli-69Dxbc61/?mid=Uo5hVVCM"]Click here to see all the stats of the match[/a][/b][/p]