(Football news) Napoli kept up their 100% record in the Champions League group and secured qualification to the knockout stages by beating Ajax 4-2 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Early goals from Hirving Lozano and Giacomo Raspadori put the italian side comfortably ahead by the 16-minute mark as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia added a second-half penalty after Davy Klaassen had pulled one back for Ajax.
The Dutch club made a desperate bid to level the scores as Steven Bergwijn converted an 83rd-minute penalty to bring the score back to 3-2 but a defensive error allowed Victor Osimhen to score Napoli's fourth in the final minute to put the icing on the cake for the side from Naples. Napoli's 12-points means that they are guaranteed a top-two finish in Group A and in the process they have scored 17 goals in four matches. They now have joined the likes of holders Real Madrid, Club Brugge and Manchester City as teams through to the round of 16 which is going to take place in February. Any hopes Ajax avenging last week's 6-1 humiliation at the Amsterdam Arena which was subsequently their heaviest defeat in a European club competition were completely dented.
Napoli began the match in emphatic fashion when Lozano played a quick give-and-go with Piotr Zielinski before heading the lofted return ball into the net as Ajax's defence were caught napping in the fourth minute. The Dutch club had several chances for a quick equaliser but they couldn’t capitalise on the half chances as Napoli went down the other end with a flowing run on the left from Kvaratskhelia, who played an inch perfect ball for Raspadori to rifle a powerful shot into the net. Ajax looked the much brighter of the two sides immediately after the break and they got an instant reward when Klaassen headed home from Calvin Bassey's perfect cross in the 49th minute.
Although Napoli's two goal advantage was restored in the 62nd minute after a lengthy VAR review which found Jurrien Timber to handle the ball in his penalty area and Kvaratskhelia converted the spotkick very cooly. Ajax were also awarded a penalty of their own seven minutes from time, when substitute Brian Brobbey was brought down and Bergwijn scored from the spot. But those hopes of making a comeback were completely extinguished in the last minute when Daley Blind was dispossessed by Osimhen as the Nigerian striker marked his return from injury with a much needed goal.
"These players did something immense tonight and brought to the pitch the pride of the Neapolitans," Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti said.
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