Napoli cruise past 10-man Cagliari

Napoli secured a comfortable 3-0 win in Serie A over Cagliari, who played most of the second half with 10 men after their goalkeeper was sent off.

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The home side dominated from the start, with Dries Mertens and Marek Hamsil both coming close to breaking the deadlock inside the opening five minutes.

Agim Ibraimi had Cagliari's first chance of the match, but his shot from outside the area was high and wide.

Napoli broke the deadlock when Goran Pandev was brought down in the box in the 33rd minute, allowing Mertens to slot the ball into the bottom corner from the spot.

The hosts were able to double their lead before the break when Jose Callejon crossed the ball in for Pandev to tap in from close range.

The hosts were awarded their second penalty of the night early in the second half when Marco Silvestri brought down Pandev, resulting in a red card for the Cagliari goalkeeper, but Hamsik's spot kick struck the crossbar before Callejon put the rebound wide.

Marco Sau had a chance to get the visitors back into contention following a quick break from Nicola Murru, but his shot was palmed away by Roberto Colombo.

Napoli were able to make up for their penalty miss before the hour mark, when Mertens provided a through-ball for Pandev, who was denied by the keeper, but Blerim Dzemaili was on hand to tap in.

With Cagliari finishing the match a man short, Napoli continued to dominate, with Hamsik, Dzemaili and Faouzi Ghoulam all testing Vlada Avramov, but the replacement keeper prevented the hosts from increasing their score late on.

The result leaves Napoli third in the table, while Cagliari sit 15th.