Napoli ease past Pescara

Basement club Pescara were beaten 3-0 by a ruthless Napoli side in Serie A on Saturday evening.

Napoli started the match brightly, with Marek Hamsik looking the biggest threat in the absence of Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani.

The midfielder made space for himself in the 18th minute and fired a great effort at goal, but Ivan Pelizzoli reacted well to push the ball to safety.

Hamsik then turned provider when he picked out Lorenzo Insigne, who drilled a shot over the crossbar from the centre of the penalty area.

Napoli's dominance didn't bring a goal until the first minute of the second half when Gokhan Inler was allowed too much space on the edge of the box to open the scoring with a well-placed shot.

Pescara were inches away from snatching a goal just minutes after falling behind when Ferdinando Sforzini met Giuseppe Sculli's cross with a header that flew over the crossbar.

Goran Pandev doubled Napoli's lead just before the hour mark by controlling Christian Maggio's cross before firing into the bottom corner.

There was plenty of time for the visitors to add to their tally and Blerim Dzemaili added gloss to the scoreline in the 81st minute with a superb strike from outside the box.