Napoli Thrash Palermo 5-0 to Reach Italian Cup Last 16 Amid Crowd Trouble
Napoli cruised into the last 16 of the Italian Cup with a resounding 5-0 victory over 10-man Palermo on Thursday, but the match was overshadowed by crowd trouble.
Cyril Ngonge’s early brace set the tone for a dominant Napoli performance at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The Belgian forward opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a clinical finish, before doubling his tally just six minutes later.
Juan Jesus extended Napoli’s lead three minutes before half-time, heading home from a corner. Palermo’s misery was compounded in the 58th minute when Aljosa Vasic was sent off for a high boot on Billy Gilmour.
David Neres added a fourth for Napoli 12 minutes later, rolling the ball into an empty net after a fine run from Giacomo Raspadori. Scott McTominay completed the rout with his first Napoli goal, seconds after replacing Raspadori.
The match was marred by crowd trouble, with rival fans throwing flares and firecrackers at each other during half-time. The second half was delayed by seven minutes as a result.
The incident follows a week of violence in Italian football. On Wednesday, there were widespread clashes between Genoa and Sampdoria’s hardcore ultras before and after their local derby, which was won on penalties by Samp.
Italian media report that both Genoa and Samp may have to play their next two home matches behind closed doors after dozens of injuries on a night of tension in the Italian port city.
Napoli fans were also involved in clashes with Cagliari fans in Sardinia earlier this month.
Despite the off-field distractions, Napoli remain on course for a domestic double. They are top of Serie A and have now reached the last 16 of the Italian Cup.