Napoli secure victory over Sassuolo as Juve are held

• Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0 on Sunday to continue their impressive start to the new season at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
• In another Serie A fixture played on Sunday, Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Bologna

Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0 on Sunday to continue their impressive start to the new season at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s goals were all that the the hosts needed to win the three points.

Napoli coach Rudi Garcia was impressed by his side’s performance as they begin their title defence. Speaking after the win, Garcia said his side could have scored more if their shots were on target.

Victor Osimhen scored Napoli’s first goal of the match as they beat Sassuolo 2-0. Photo/ Eurosport.

“We won and picked up six points. We practically didn’t run any risks, that is all positive, but we could also have improved in attack. I think not even 20 per cent of our shots were on target today, so there’s no miracle cure here, if you don’t get it on target, you don’t score goals.” Tribal Football quotes Rudi Garcia.

Napoli hadn’t scored during the first half in any of their last eight Serie A matches at home, and they wanted to stop the count against Sassuolo. The hosts came close to scoring in the opening minute of the match but Giacomo Raspadori’s effort struck the post.

Rudi Garcia’s side needed just sixteen minutes to take the lead, thanks to Victor Osimhen’s penalty. Napoli were awarded the penalty after Daniel Boloca fouled Matteo Politano in the box.

Sassuolo responded the the set back by coming forward in numbers to find the equalizer. However, the encouragement they had was nullified after the break when Maxime Lopez was sent off for dissent.

Napoli’s Jeremy Tolja handled the ball inside the box leading to a penalty. However, Giacomo Raspadori was unable to convert from the spot as he fired over the bar in the 60th minute. Four minutes later, Di Lorenzo scored to give the hosts a 2-0 lead, which they held on to until the referee blew his whistle for full time.

Juventus Held By Bologna 

Whereas Napoli beat Sassuolo 2-0, Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Allianz Stadium in Turin. Bologna trailed in terms of position but were the first to score, thanks to Lewis Ferguson’s 24th minute well-taken strike.

The Scotland international latched onto Joshua Zirkee’s brilliant through ball and wrong-footed goalkeeper Perin with an accurate finish. Zirkee and Ferguson combined once again but the Scott’s shot went wide this time round.

Dusan Vlahovic thought he had equalized after the break with a brilliant acrobatic finish but it was ruled out due to Adrien Rabiot standing in an offside position. Vlahovic eventually saved the day for the Old Lady in the 80th minute with a beautiful header.

Dusan Vlahovic equalized for Juventus with ten minutes left to play. Photo/ Eurosport.

In other Serie A matches played on Sunday, Fiorentina were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Lecce and Lazio suffered a 1-0 loss to Genoa.