Napoli see off Fiorentina to reach Italian Super Cup Final

Napoli’s Italian forward Alessio Zerbin celebrates his goal with his team during their Italian Super Cup semifinal match against Fiorentina at Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh, on Jan. 18, 2024. (AFP)

• Giovanni Simeone opened the scoring in the 22nd minute at a sparsely-populated Al-Awwal Park
• Alessio Zerbin ensured Napoli’s passage with two late strikes

RIYADH: Napoli reached the Italian Super Cup final after beating Fiorentina 3-0 in Thursday’s last-four clash in Riyadh.
Giovanni Simeone opened the scoring in the 22nd minute at a sparsely-populated Al-Awwal Park before Alessio Zerbin ensured Napoli’s passage with two late strikes.
Napoli will face the winner of Friday’s other semifinal between Inter Milan and Lazio in the final at the same stadium on Monday night.
This season is the first time that the Italian Super Cup has been contested with a four-team format, but it doesn’t appear to have captured the imagination of the Saudi public.
The stadium was mostly empty for a match featuring Italy’s ailing but reigning champions, who took the lead when Simeone netted the first chance his team created in a rare start.
Former Fiorentina forward Simeone was brilliantly set up by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who skipped past Nikola Milenkovic before slipping through the Argentina forward.
Fiorentina dominated the ball for large periods and should have levelled when Jonathan Ikone went down easily under a challenge from Mario Rui just before half-time.
But Ikone ballooned his spot-kick over the bar and after easily keeping Fiorentina at bay Napoli doubled their lead in the 84th minute through substitute Zerbin.
The 24-year-old looked hurt after crashing into the post while poking home Napoli’s second but he recovered quickly enough to lash in the third two minutes later, confirming his team’s spot in the final.