Napoli 5-1 Empoli: Dries Mertens scores hat-trick

By PA Sport

Image: Dries Mertens scored a hat-trick as Napoli closed the gap on Serie A leaders Juventus

Dries Mertens scored a hat-trick as Napoli trounced Empoli 5-1 to narrow the gap to Serie A leaders Juventus to three points.

A rapid ninth-minute counter-attack saw Kalidou Koulibaly provide the final pass that Lorenzo Insigne collected and clipped beyond goalkeeper Ivan Provedel at Stadio San Paolo.

Empoli had a Luca Antonelli effort ruled out for offside before, in the 38th minute, Mertens dribbled into the box and unleashed an angled drive that stunned Provedel.

Francesco Caputo briefly made it a contest again when he beat the offside trap and Orestis Karnezis to halve the deficit, but the irrepressible Mertens re-established Napoli's two-goal lead.

This time he did not need to enter the penalty area, instead lofting a first-time strike over Provedel.

Also See:

Empoli's heads dropped and substitute Arkadiusz Milik added a fourth at the end of another fast break before Mertens claimed the match ball thanks to an assist from Insigne.

Play Super 6

Predict 6 correct scores for your chance to win £250K.

Outbrain