Sparkly Napoli flatten Club Brugge
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Article summary
Napoli 5-0 Club Brugge
José Callejon scored the first goal of the group stage and Dries Mertens struck twice as Maurizio Sarri's side made an explosive Group D start.
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- Napoli match their biggest European win: 5-0 v Vllaznia in 2008
- José Callejon accidentally hits first goal of 2015/16 group stage
- Dries Mertens strikes twice against his countrymen
- Marek Hamšík and Callejon complete rout in second half
- Next games: Club Brugge v Midtjylland, Legia v Napoli (1 October)
Napoli's Group D campaign got off to a flying start, with Club Brugge coming apart, losing 5-0 in their UEFA Europa League group stage opener.
By happy accident, José Callejon scored the first goal of the 2015/16 group phase; his fifth-minute cross from the right eluded all of his team-mates but snuck behind Club Brugge goalkeeper Sinan Bolat and into the net. The winger's heroism was a little more deliberate for Napoli's second, Dries Mertens scampering through to side-foot the Spaniard's crisp pass into the net.
The Belgian did his countrymen more damage on 25 minutes; Jorginho clipped a free-kick into the box and Mertens found space again, hooking a first-time effort low inside Bolat's right-hand post. Mertens had a hand in Napoli's fourth too, his ball in from the left on 53 minutes causing a mix-up between Bolat and his defence, inviting Marek Hamšík to slide the ball into an unguarded net.
Mertens and Kalidou Koulibaly went close to getting the fifth, and Gonzalo Higuaín hit the post for the hosts, but Club Brugge were not to be spared, substitute Allan's through ball setting up Callejon for his second of the night on 77 minutes. The result matched Napoli's biggest European win – and the margin of Club Brugge's heaviest European loss: 6-1 at Monaco in 1988.