Napoli 3-0 Bologna: Kvaratskhelia on target as Conte enjoys first Serie A win

Antonio Conte oversaw his first Serie A victory in charge of Napoli, who ran out commanding 3-0 winners over Bologna at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Simeone were all on target for the Partenopei as they bounced back from their defeat by the same scoreline at Verona on matchday one.

The hosts had not lost their opening two games of a Serie A season since doing so under Zdenek Zeman in 2000-01, and they broke through in first-half stoppage time.

A lovely move culminated in Kvaratskhelia clipping a delightful ball into the box for the onrushing Di Lorenzo to control and fire home.

Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead with a quarter of an hour remaining; his shot after a fine solo run deflecting beyond Lukasz Skorupski in the Bologna goal.

Napoli wrapped up the points in stoppage time when David Neres cut a cross back for fellow substitute Simeone, who made no mistake from close range.

7 – Giovanni Di Lorenzo is one of the two defenders, with Cristiano Biraghi, able to score in each of the last 7 Serie A seasons (17 goals for Di Lorenzo since 2018/19). Constancy.#NapoliBologna #SerieA

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) August 25, 2024

Data Debrief: A magnificent seven for Di Lorenzo as Simeone ends drought

Napoli opened the scoring via an unlikely source in Di Lorenzo, though he converted the opportunity with aplomb.

The skipper is one of two defenders, along with Cristiano Biraghi, to score in each of the last seven Serie A seasons.

Namesake Simeone climbed off the bench to net his fifth goal against Bologna in the Italian top flight and, more importantly, end a dismal run of 24 successive league appearances without scoring.