Napoli secured a place in the last 16 of the Champions League by defeating Braga 2-0, breaking a two-month home winless streak in the process.
The Italian champions finished as runners-up in Group C behind Real Madrid, with goals from Serder Saatci’s own goal and Victor Osimhen’s first goal since early October in the first half sealing their progression.
Walter Mazzarri’s side, even with a single-goal defeat, would have advanced to the next round comfortably, ending a six-match winless streak at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Their first victory in Naples since late September secured Napoli’s 10 points in the group stage, six ahead of Braga, who dropped to the Europa League.
Braga, knowing they needed to win by at least two goals to surpass Napoli, missed a great chance early on when Bruma lashed wide from close range after confusion in the Napoli area.
Their task was made even more difficult when Serder Saatci’s own goal put them behind in the ninth minute after tripping over Matteo Politano’s low cross, despite efforts from Braga goalkeeper Matheus to keep the score level.
Despite Napoli’s push for a second goal, a superb save from Alex Meret denied Braga from pulling level with a long-range effort from Ricardo Horta.
In the 33rd minute, Victor Osimhen effectively sealed Napoli’s passage into the next round by scoring, leaving Braga needing to score four goals without reply to advance.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa had a chance to score for Napoli in the 65th minute but could only shoot straight at Braga’s goalkeeper Matheus after a setup from Osimhen.
The win, breaking a streak of three straight losses, could bring some confidence back to troubled Napoli ahead of the new year.
AFP
