Napoli drub Genoa to climb to second place

Napoli, who face a Champions League last-16 firstleg clash at Real Madrid on Wednesday, have 51 points, six behind Juventus and one ahead of AS Roma before their weekend games. 

The Naples club took the game to Genoa in the first half with tricky forward Dries Mertens pulling the strings.

Kalidou Koulibaly attempted a spectacular flying volley after 33 minutes that flew wide while Lorenzo Insigne had a right-foot shot tipped over by Genoa keeper Eugenio Lamanna.

Just before halftime, Insigne ran on to a Dries Mertens through pass but could only prod the ball wide under pressure and Lamanna smothered Giaccherini’s effort. 

Napoli went ahead five minutes after the break through Poland midfielder Zielinski who scored. Giaccherini got the second goal after 68 minutes when Mertens set him up following a mazy burst down the left.