Super Eagles striker Akor Adams ended his four-game goal drought with the decisive strike as bottom-placed Venezia stunned Napoli 1-0 in Serie A at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo on Saturday.
The victory marked Venezia’s first league win of the season and came in their first match under new head coach Davide Nicola, who replaced the sacked Giovanni Stroppa.
Venezia had lost their opening six league matches, scoring five goals and conceding 16, while also struggling to secure a victory in any competition.
Despite Napoli dominating possession, the visitors created few clear-cut chances in the first half. Venezia had the only shot on target before the break when Adams capitalised on an error by Benoit Badiashile but was denied by goalkeeper Alex Meret at the near post.
The decisive moment arrived four minutes into the second half when Simon Sohm, the Switzerland international of Nigerian descent, sent a long ball forward for Adams.
The 26-year-old used his strength to get past Amir Rrahmani before cutting inside and shooting. The effort deflected off the Napoli defender and wrong-footed Meret, putting Venezia ahead in the 49th minute.
The goal was Adams’ second in the league this season.
Napoli brought on Kevin De Bruyne and Rasmus Hojlund in search of an equaliser after both players had been rested following their 3-1 Champions League defeat to Villarreal in midweek.
Hojlund came close in the 59th minute, but Juan Jesus, who was facing his former club, produced a goal-line clearance to preserve Venezia’s advantage.
Napoli were handed another opportunity when Matias Moreno brought down Hojlund in the penalty area. However, De Bruyne’s effort in the 68th minute lacked power, allowing goalkeeper Filip Stankovic to smother the ball on the line.
Stankovic proved instrumental in Venezia’s victory, making nine saves to keep Napoli at bay.
His impressive performance included a flying stop to push Stanislav Lobotka’s curling effort away from the top corner and another save to keep out an attempt from Alisson Santos near the post.
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Adams joined Venezia from Sevilla in the summer for a reported €17m and now has four goals in nine appearances across all competitions.
Despite ending their winless run, Venezia remain bottom of the Serie A table with three points, one behind Udinese, Monza, Genoa, Parma and Fiorentina.
Napoli, meanwhile, missed the opportunity to move into the top four and remain ninth with 10 points following their third defeat of the season.
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