The Azzurri come from behind to thump Andre Villas Boas’s men thanks to a brace from Ezequiel Lavezzi and a goal from Edinson Cavani.
Napoli pound Chelsea 3-1 in the first-leg of the last 16 round of UEFA Champions League at Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday, February 21.
Juan Mata opened the scoring for the Blues before the Partenopei side fought back courtesy a brace from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Edinson-Cavani-c11955 strike.
Nicolo Frustalupi managed the Azzurri in absence of Walter Mazzarri, who is banned for the both legs of the tie. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hugo-Campagnaro-c16394 made a timely recovery from an ankle injury to start in the defence.
On the other hand, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Frank-Lampard-c14097 respectively.
The match witnessed a lively start, as both teams looked to take an early lead. The first real goal-scoring opportunity fell for the hosts, as Lavezzi played Cavani in acres of space, and the Uruguayan beat the offside trap before
forcing http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Petr-Cech-c29837 into a fine low save.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ashley-Cole-c6809 in the 12th minute.
A chaotic moment in the Napoli box almost gifted the Blues an early lead, as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Morgan-De-Sanctis-c26801 was caught in two minds to meet a long ball from Cech, and danger from Malouda was cleared by Campagnaro.
A minute later, Cech was once again called into action, as Marek Hamsik sprayed a lovely pass in the box for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Christian-Maggio-c9098, whose powerful strike was met by a finger tip save from the Chelsea goalkeeper.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Napoli-c40003 dominated the early possession and looked dangerous of the two sides, but they were made to pay for Paolo Cannavaro’s mistake, as Mata gave Chelsea the lead. The Partenopei skipper scooped his clearance into the path of
the Spanish international, who calmly slotted his shot past De Sanctis to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
The Blues were boosted by the important away goal, as they came extremely close to double their advantage. Mata’s cross from the corner was headed inches over the bar by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Luiz-c10542.
A minute later, Lavezzi found his team on level terms with his maiden Champions League strike. The Argentine met a pass from Cavani before turning past http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Raul-Meireles-c30678 and bending a lovely finish into the far top corner to make it
1-1.
Cavani and Meireles received yellow-cards for their poor tackles, and the latter will miss the second-leg at Stamford Bridge.
Three minutes were added for stoppages, as Napoli managed to take the lead just before the half-time whistle. Cavani made most of a defensive error from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Branislav-Ivanovic-c7994, as the South American knocked a shot with his chest past
Cech to make 2-1 for the hosts.
Napoli went into the break with a deserved lead, as the second-half promised a lot more.
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