The travelling Napoli fans are singing their team home tonight, and rightly so! They are only weeks away from lifting the Serie A title at this rate.
90'
Four minutes of stoppage time to come!
85'
A. Zerbin enters the game and replaces E. Elmas.
A. Álvarez enters the game and replaces D. Frattesi.
Pedro Obiang enters the game and replaces M. Lopez.
G. Simeone enters the game and replaces V. Osimhen.
With Elmas on a yellow card, Spalletti takes no chances, with Zerbin on for the final few minutes.
The same goes for Lopez, who makes way for Obiang.
Frattesi, the leading creative spark in Sassuolo's midfield, gets a well-earned rest. On comes Martinez for the final few minutes.
84'
Napoli are taking no risks with Osimhen, with Simeone on for the final 10 minutes.
81'
M. Lopez gets yellow.
Lopez picks up a yellow card after a reckless challenge on Lobotka.
79'
K. Thorstvedt enters the game and replaces Matheus Henrique.
E. Ceïde enters the game and replaces N. Bajrami.
A change in midfield for Sassuolo, with Thorstvedt on for Henrique.
Bajrami, who has been quiet, is now replaced by Ceide.
78'
H. Lozano enters the game and replaces K. Kvaratskhelia.
T. Ndombélé enters the game and replaces F. Anguissa.
Spalletti alters his midfield, with Zambo Anguissa replaced by Ndombele.
Lozano is given 12 minutes to impress, with Kvaratskhelia the one to make way.
75'
Further subs on their way for both sides by the looks of it.
73'
Time is running out for Sassuolo, and they have sadly just been going through the motions in the second half. They have done well to keep the scoreline at 0-2, but they need to do more if they are to have any chance of sharing the points this evening.
Minute
Description
71'
SIDE NETTING! Osimhen comes within inches of scoring his second goal of the night, but his right-footed shot hit the side of the goal!
69'
Nothing comes from the resulting free-kick, with Bajrami firing his effort into the stands.
68'
P. Zieliński gets yellow.
Zielinski is shown a yellow card after a sloppy challenge on Frattesi on the edge of the Napoli box.
63'
His side might be leading the Serie A table by 18 points at the minute, but Spalletti continues to bark instructions at his team. He knows this tie could soon turn on its head if Sassuolo scores the next goal.
61'
Spalletti will hope his first sub will spark some life into his team, as they appear to have taken their foot off the gas in the last few minutes.
58'
P. Zieliński enters the game and replaces M. Politano.
Zielinski is introduced, with Politano on in his place.
57'
A. Pinamonti enters the game and replaces G. Defrel.
First a substitution for Sassuolo, as Defrel makes way for Pinamonti.
55'
Spalletti looks to be preparing some substitutions, which makes sense, with Napoli due to play Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League next week.
53'
E. Elmas gets yellow.
Elmas earns himself a yellow card after a poor challenge on Laurient.
48'
The second half has started just like the first. Napoli are dictating the pace of the game and enjoying themselves in the process.
46'
We are back underway!
45' +2
HALF-TIME - SASSUOLO 0-2 NAPOLI.
45'
Two minutes of stoppage time to come...
43'
A. Laurienté gets yellow.
Lauriente shows signs of his frustration after bundling into the back of Di Lorenzo, and he is carded as a result.
39'
Napoli have showcased once again why they deserve to lead the rest of Serie A tonight. In the first 40 minutes, they have been dominant, confident and, most importantly, clinical.
33'
V. Osimhen has scored a goal for Napoli! Assist by Amir Rrahmani.
GOAAALLLL - SASSUOLO 0-2 NAPOLI - Osimhen gets his goal just minutes after hitting the post. Sassuolo keeper Consigli will not want to see replays of that effort again after he was beaten at his near post by the Napoli forward. The Nigeria international looked to have been forced wide, but he caught Consigli off guard to double Napoli's lead.
Just like the first goal, Rrahmani is fortunate to claim the assist, but his looping throughball did put Osimhen into a strong position before he did the rest.
30'
The crowd are enjoying themselves inside the first 30 minutes, even though the visitors are in the lead. Sassuolo are fighting for every ball, and the home supporters cannot ask any more than that at this stage of the game, considering the gulf in class.
28'
Although Sassuolo have hit the post already, Napoli are still in complete control of this fixture, with Napoli goalkeeper Meret yet to make a save.
24'
As we said earlier, that goal from Kvaratskhelia now means Napoli lead the Serie A table by 18 points. An incredible achievement and they are playing like they want to secure the three points before half-time.
18'
To say they are behind, Sassuolo are playing on the front foot and trying to match Napoli in midfield. That may be their downfall as the game progresses, but it makes for interesting viewing.
16'
After a slow start from both teams, the goal has perked them both up. Napoli have upped the speed of their play, while Sassuolo are now counter-attacking with more enthusiasm.
12'
K. Kvaratskhelia has scored a goal for Napoli! Assist by M. Olivera.
Olivera claims the assist, but all of the hard work was done by Kvaratskhelia, who collected possession just inside the Sassuolo half.
GOAAAALLL - SASSUOLO 0-1 NAPOLI - What an effort from Kvaratskhelia, who opens the scoring after a superb solo run. Olivera played a simple pass into his team-mates' feet, but Kvaratskhelia did the rest as he glided towards the Sassuolo box before smashing the ball into the bottom corner.
10'
Sassuolo will be pleased with their performance so far in the early stages, but Defrel looks far too isolated in the final third.
8'
All in all, it has been a low-key start between the two sides, with neither goalkeeper forced into making a save.
6'
Sassuolo's fans have booed and jeered every decision that has gone against them and made as much noise as possible when Napoli have got near their box. It is fair to say they are up for this battle.
3'
As expected, Napoli have started better out of the two teams, and they have set a positive tempo in the first few minutes of this match.
1'
We are underway!
Sassuolo will no doubt have to be at their best tonight to secure a result, but they have started to show signs of their true potential after enjoying a four-match unbeaten run. Eye-catching wins over Milan and Atalanta came in between draws to Monza and Udinese.
Napoli have also enjoyed a four-match unbeaten run of late, but the league leaders have won all four of their recent Serie A matches against Salernitana, Roma, Spezia, and Cremonese.
SASSUOLO (4-3-3): Andrea Consigli; Rogerio, Ruan, Martin Erlic, Nadir Zortea; Matheus Henrique, Maxime Lopez, Davide Frattesi; Armand Lauriente, Gregoire Defrel, Nedim Bajrami.
SUBS: Davide Marfella, Pierluigi Gollini, Diego Demme, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui, Hirving Lozano, Giovanni Simeone, Bartosz Bereszynski, Piotr Zielinski, Alessio Zerbin, Karim Zedadka, Leo Ostigard, Gianluca Gaetano, Tanguy Ndombele.
NAPOLI (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Mathias Olivera, Kim Min-Jae, Amir Rrahmani, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Eljif Elmas, Stanislav Lobotka, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen, Matteo Politano.
SUBS: Gianluca Pegolo, Alessandro Russo, Riccardo Marchizza, Abdou Harroui, Andrea Pinamonti, Domenico Berardi, Agustin Alvarez Martínez, Gian Marco Ferrari, Pedro Obiang, Emil Ceide, Mert Muldur, Luca D'Andrea, Kristian Thorstvedt.
The two teams are making their way onto the field, with kick-off moments away!
Sassuolo may be losing, but they should be confident of causing the league leaders problems in the second 45 minutes. Lauriente had a goal disallowed for offside, and they will hope to use that as motivation at the start of the second half.
Good evening and welcome to tonight's live coverage of the Serie A clash between Sassuolo and Napoli. Tonight's visitors will look to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points, while the hosts will hope to move further clear of the relegation zone.
Napoli are now 18 points clear at the top of the Serie A table, thanks to goals from Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen. Kvaratskhelia's determined run opened the scoring in the 12th minute, with no Sassuolo player able to stop him from advancing from the halfway line. Osimhen then made it two from the tightest of angles after he and Sassuolo's Lauriente had hit the post. In the second half, both teams had goals disallowed, but Napoli were in cruise control throughout the second 45 minutes. Lauriente's volley was chalked off for offside, as was Simeone's header at the death.
Sassuolo were always going to be up against it this evening due to Napoli's form, but they will not be panicking at the minute, thanks to their seven-point cushion over 18th-placed Verona. Napoli face Frankfurt in midweek, and they will hope Osimhen can prove his fitness after he limped off towards the end.
That is all from us tonight folks, thanks for joining us. Goodbye!
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