Hojlund misses, De Bruyne makes up for it and seals the win; Lang also scores: Napoli scores three against Frosinone

Napoli resumed league play with a 3-0 victory over Frosinone in front of the home crowd at the “Maradona” Stadium: Massimiliano Allegri’s team thus secured its third consecutive positive result and its second straight home win, though it remains far from the top of the Serie A standings.

The match began with Napoli looking extremely dangerous right from the start: Hojlund, just four minutes into the game, fired a powerful shot that hit the post, silencing the home fans’ roar of joy. The Dane had a chance to redeem himself in the 27th minute when he was brought down in the box by Cittadini, earning a penalty, but Palmisani saved his shot from the penalty spot. The referee, however, penalized the Giallazzurri goalkeeper for a false start and ordered a retake: this time, De Bruyne stepped up to the spot and made no mistake, putting Napoli ahead 1-0 in the 29th minute.

The second goal came shortly after, in the 32nd minute: Napoli pressed forward relentlessly, with Palmisani coming off his line to challenge Di Lorenzo; the ball fell to Lang, who, with the goal practically unguarded, made it 2-0. A couple of minutes later, the Dutchman nearly scored his second goal, but Palmisani denied him, preventing a rout.

The second half offered fewer highlights: one of these was certainly McTominay’s return to the field in the 61st minute, replacing David Neres: The Scot hadn’t taken the field since August 30 due to surgery to correct a mild, benign arrhythmia. The pace of the match slowed, however, as Napoli comfortably controlled the game and Frosinone was forced to concede, with De Bruyne putting the icing on the cake by scoring from close range to make it 3-0 in the 94th minute. The match thus ended with a victory for Napoli, which now has 10 points in the standings, tying with Frosinone.