Napoli's preparations for hosting Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League next week went off virtually without a hitch as they dispatched Fiorentina in fine fashion at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Napoli started off brilliantly with an Edinson Cavani goal inside the first three minutes, and continually soaked what pressure their hosts were able to throw at them before breaking out in swashbuckling style.
Fiorentina Vs. Napoli, 2012 Serie A: Easy Win For Cavani And Friends
The Partenopei were perhaps unlucky not to be further ahead at the break, with Miguel Britos missing a virtually empty net from two yards out and right back Christian Maggio rattling the woodwork in the 24th minute. However, Fiorentina were giving a decent account of themselves when they did have the ball -- Riccardo Montolivo and Juan Vargas were particularly impressive, and they came close to testing stand-in goalkeeper Antonio Rosati on a number of occasions.
Without that second goal, it was going to be a nervy second half for the visitors, but Cavani was once again left in space 10 minutes after the restart and the Uruguay star did what he does best, beating Artur Boruc at his near post to make it 2-0 and effectively kill off the game. Ezequiel Lavezzi missed a sitter in stoppage time before making up for it with a delightfully cool finish seconds later, and Napoli emerged as comfortable 3-0 victors.
The only thing that might have darkened coach Walter Mazzarri's day was the withdrawal of starting centre back Hugo Campagnaro 12 minutes in, although the move looked more precautionary than forced.
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