Lavezzi Stars In Napoli Win
22 February 2012
Ezequiel Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani starred as Napoli beat Chelsea 3-1 in an extraordinary UEFA Champions League match at the Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday.
The Blues took the lead through a defensive mistake by the hosts in the 27th minute which let Juan Mata in but Chelsea were shaky at the back too which allowed Lavezzi and Cavani to strike before the break. Lavezzi then wrapped up the result in the 65th minute.
Chelsea will now need to turn things around in the second-leg at Stamford Bridge if they want to progress to the quarter-finals.
Cavani was denied the opener in the ninth minute when he went one-on-one with Petr Cech before Campagnaro made a last ditch challenge to stop Florent Malouda.
Cech was then called into another superb save just a minute later when Marek Hamsik slipped Christian Maggio through before Cavani nodded wide of the near post soon after.
The opener then arrived in the 27th minute when Paolo Cannavaro sliced his attempted clearance and it fell perfectly for Mata who slotted the ball past Morgan De Sanctis.
David Luiz could have doubled their tally but he nodded over before Lavezzi ditched Raul Meireles far too easily and curled a delightful finish past the diving Cech.
Ramires then walked through the Napoli defence but fired his effort over before Cavani slotted a controversial goal when he ghosted in behind Branislav Ivanovic and seemed to guide the ball in with his arm.
Chelsea continued to live dangerously after the break with Cavani slipping Lavezzi through but he was unable to beat Cech.
The Blues then enjoyed a good period of pressure but they would concede again when Cavani robbed Luiz and unselfishly squared to Lavezzi who made no mistake with Cech off his line.
Chelsea brought on Frank Lampard and Micheal Essien in the final few minutes but Ashley Cole, who was an early substitute, would save them with nine minutes to go as he cleared Hamsik's effort off the line.
Napoli stood firm in the final few minutes and now have a decent advantage ahead of their second-leg in London.
comments
Lmfao , where are the statistics , where where where? . . . I proved you wrong you dont know what to google now you bring my dad in SL , COME ON BE A MAN , dont be a coward boy
Submitted by: GLORY_MBP
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 20:53:51
@Glue, clearly u are taking your father's legacy of stupidity to new unprecedented levels. I'm done engaging a brain dead idiot like u.
Submitted by: P_Kwazo
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 20:48:49
@Golo, you are an embarrassment to this site can never be cured. I'm done arguing with a brain dead like you.
Submitted by: P_Kwazo
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 20:35:52
And stop google searching 2OOO stuff that you werent even watch , most you fake Barca fans started supporting during Ronaldinho era or 2OO9 . Check current statistic of the major leagues , check the no1 and no3 in la liga , no1 Real has 51 points yet no3 has 4O a massive 21 points difference with 15 games to play , check goal difference (to compare attack and defend) no1 got +58 yet no3 only has +9 shocking , isnt it? In a that league with 15 games to play even number 2 is starting to give up , what kind of league is that , it's certainly not the best league. Real and Barca are the best teams in the world AT THE MOMENT but li liga isnt the best unless it's a two team league .
Submitted by: GLORY_MBP
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 20:33:53
@Patrick Kwasa Kwasa There is a thing called a 'typo' go do what you do best and google it's meaning . A competitive league is judged by the number of QUALITY teams in that league . Everton , Hotspurs , Liverpool and Newcastle are top quality teams everybody knows their history , playing style and current player and most idolize , everybody know Luis Suarez , Gareth Bale , Steven Gerrard , Steven Pienaar , Leyton Bains , Demba Ba and more yet those players arent in the UCL.
Submitted by: GLORY_MBP
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 20:22:08
@Grory, no one came up with 'idiotic views' as u say, simple statistics were provided & they never lie. It's not our problem that your favorite league lags far behind in terms of winning Ucl titles let alone your miserable club. Lastly before u label others as idiots, look in the mirror & u will see the BIGGEST IDIOT u can't even spell a simple word like 'enough'.
Submitted by: P_Kwazo
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 18:11:13
Every leageu gt its own identity! Bt whn its comes to achievements spain in last 12 years gt more champions league winners dan any other countries with 5 champions! Italy 3, England 2, germany 1 nd Portugal 1! Dominant of Spanish nt new pple even the national team nw is also dominating internationaly
Submitted by: Czwe7
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 16:45:54
Nah gokuu thats wasnt necessary , if they're dumb enought to think La liga is the best thing just because of two teams it's their own idoitic views.
Submitted by: GLORY_MBP
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 16:30:08
@ Jommak - go screw ur mom u bloody son of a female dog
Submitted by: gokuu
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 16:01:46
U are right guys, this gokuu knows nothing. According to his std3 logic support=quality(hurray), that's the dumbest analysis I've heard in a looong time
Submitted by: jommak
Date: 22 February 2012, Time: 12:29:44