Napoli 5-0 Palermo: Five-star hosts cruise into Coppa Italia last 16

Cyril Ngonge scored twice in an electrifying performance, as Napoli breezed into the Coppa Italia last 16 with a crushing 5-0 win over Serie B Palermo on Thursday.

Ngonge struck first in the seventh minute with a left-footed drive that bounced in front of Salvatore Sirigu before squirming under his body into the net, leaving the goalkeeper shaking his head in disbelief.

Sirigu was at fault again five minutes later when Ngonge lashed another left-footer from a difficult angle, the ball flying across the face of the goal before nestling in the side netting to make it 2-0.

Palermo gave the hosts a scare as Matteo Brunori struck the post 29 minutes in, but Napoli were too big, too strong and too quick for their second-tier visitors, with Juan Jesus nodding home from a corner to make it 3-0 just before the break.

The visitors’ hopes of a comeback were shattered when they were reduced to 10 men just before the hour mark. Aljosa Vasic was given a straight red card for dangerous play after catching Billy Gilmour in the face.

David Neres slotted home the fourth in the 70th minute, pressing to help win the ball back before coolly knocking into the net.

Scott McTominay then came off the bench to score with his first touch, rifling home a pass from fellow substitute Romelu Lukaku seven minutes later to complete the rout.

Full time: #NapoliPalermo 5-0

#ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/SNIkPIVoQv

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) September 26, 2024

Data Debrief: A perfect performance

Conte’s first game in charge was in the first round of this competition, and the Partenopei edged their way through with a penalty shootout win over Modena.

It was a totally different performance this time around though. They had 16 shots, seven of which were on target, accumulating just 1.55 expected goals.

Ngonge’s part was perhaps the most impressive – he scored with both of his shots, with those chances equalling just 0.09 xG, though he just could not snatch a hat-trick in the second half to round off a brilliant game.