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Napoli’s Edinson Cavani celebrates after scoring against Pescara at San Paolo Stadium in Naples on December 2, 2012. (Roberto Salomone/AFP/Getty Images)

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Chasing its first title since Diego Maradona played for the club, Napoli thrashed 10-man Pescara 5-1 Sunday to move back within two points of Serie A leader Juventus.

Gokhan Inler and Edinson Cavani each scored twice and Marek Hamsik also found the target for Napoli. Iceland midfielder Birkir Bjarnason scored for last-place Pescara in the 18th minute to briefly make it 2-1, and the match turned back in Napoli’s favour when Pescara defender Antonio Bocchetti was sent off for tripping Cavani in the 57th.

Also Sunday, Inter Milan struggled to beat Palermo 1-0 with an own goal from Santiago Garcia in the 74th.

Juventus, which beat 10-man Torino 3-0 in the Turin derby Saturday, has 35 points. Napoli is next with 33 and Inter is third with 31.

Maradona led Napoli to its only two Serie A titles, in 1987 and 1990.

Napoli finished third two seasons ago, but struggled to balance domestic duties with the Champions League last season and fell to fifth.

“There’s still a long way to go,” Hamsik said. “We face Inter next, so it’s going to be a matchup of two squads that are in form.”

Fiorentina extended its unbeaten streak to nine matches following a 2-2 draw with Sampdoria, with Stevan Savic scoring his first two goals since transferring from Manchester City. The Tuscan squad is tied with Lazio for fourth on 29 points. Lazio beat Parma 2-1 with goals from Giuseppe Biava and Miroslav Klose.

Also, sixth-place Roma came back to beat Siena 3-1 with two goals from Mattia Destro and one from Simone Perrotta.

In other matches, it was: Udinese 4, Cagliari 1; Bologna 2, Atalanta 1; and Genoa 2, Chievo Verona 4.

At Napoli’s San Paolo stadium, Inler gave the hosts the lead in the ninth minute with a shot from beyond the area and Hamsik doubled the lead in the 15th after getting past a defender inside the area.

However, Bjarnason scored with a textbook header and the score remained 2-1 at halftime.

After Bocchetti was sent off, Cavani converted the ensuing penalty, then added another goal — his 10th league score of the season — in the 63rd by redirecting a cross from Hamsik.

In the 78th, Inler blasted in his second goal with another powerful shot from beyond the area that ricocheted in off the post.

“I was very angry at the end of the first half, because after we went up by two goals we played inattentively and risked going into halftime level,” Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri said. “In the second half, the guys understood and things went better.”

At the San Siro, Inter struggled without creative forward Antonio Cassano, who served the second match in a two-game ban for insulting the referee. Also, playmaker Wesley Sneijder was again left off the squad as his dispute with club management persists.

Diego Milito threatened often for Inter, but it was 10 minutes after the Argentina forward was substituted that the Milan side scored, with Garcia redirecting a pass from Inter’s Andrea Ranocchia into his own goal in a failed clearance.

In Florence, Fiorentina was without both Stevan Jovetic and Luca Toni. Still, Savic put the Viola ahead in the 21st with a header. Nenad Krsticic equalized for Sampdoria in the 48th with an expert feint and shot from the edge of the area, before an own goal from Gonzalo Rodriguez in the 72nd gave Samp the lead. However, Savic scored with another header in the 75th to earn his side a point.

In Rome, Biava gave Lazio the lead from close range following a corner in the 25th, and Klose doubled the advantage in the 34th by slotting a shot past charging goalkeeper Antonio Mirante. Ishak Belfodil pulled one back for Parma in the 66th by converting a rebound of his own penalty kick.

In Siena, Portuguese defender Luis Neto put the hosts ahead in the 25th and Roma didn’t equalize until recent Italy call-up Mattia Destro scored with a header from close range in the 63rd against his former club. Former Italy international Perrotta, a member of the squad that won the 2006 World Cup, then came off the bench to put Roma ahead with a well-placed angled shot from the edge of the area in the 86th.

Destro concluded the comeback win with another goal in added time after being set up by Totti.

Betis forward Joel Campbell, right, vies with Deportivo La Coruna’s Bruno Gama during the match at Riazor Stadium in Coruna. (Miguel Riopa/AFP/Getty Images)

Betis edges Coruna, moves into 4th place: La Liga

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell scored from long range to give Real Betis a 3-2 victory at Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Back-to-back wins for Betis lifted it into fourth place and the Champions League positions.

Ruben Castro put Betis in control with his seventh and eighth goals of the season in the 39th and 55th minutes, both coming from crosses by Ignacio “Nacho” Perez.

Ivan “Riki” Sanchez pulled Deportivo level with goals in the 56th and 61st, and Deportivo coach Jose Oltra sent on an extra striker for a defender in the 72nd, looking to complete the comeback.

But four minutes later, Campbell was given time to pick his spot before unleashing an unstoppable left-foot shot that landed just inside the far post to secure all three points.

“Our fans should be proud of this team,” said Betis coach Pepe Mel. “The team fought as a unit and was quick to strike on the break. Both sides were brave with their decisions. We both sent on players to look for the win, but we were the lucky ones.”

Mel said that the 20-year-old Campbell, who arrived this summer loan from English club Arsenal, is finding his place with his new squad despite his commitments with his national team.

“Some people in Costa Rica may get angry that I say this, but we have always said that so many hours in a plane crossing the Atlantic is not good for him,” said Mel. “Since he has been here with us he has learned the way we play. It’s good for all of us, for Betis, Costa Rica, and the player that he does well now — so next year he will enjoy being with Arsenal.”

Deportivo’s fourth consecutive game without a win left it in second-to-last place.

Also on Sunday, Espanyol drew 0-0 at Granada, Levante drew 1-1 at Celta Vigo and 10-man Real Zaragoza earned a 1-1 draw at Mallorca.

Espanyol ended a run of three straight league losses in the first game for new Espanyol coach Javier Aguirre.

Granada, which is also in the relegation zone, created more chances at Los Carmenes stadium but Espanyol’s defensive stance proved enough to take away a point.

“Any points we can earn are, at this moment, a good thing,” Aguirre said. “We were better in defence than attack. The effort of my players was exemplary because they showed combativeness and team spirit.”

Aguirre took over from Mauricio Pochettino midweek. The former Mexico manager previously coached three Spanish clubs: Osasuna, Atletico Madrid, and Real Zaragoza.

Granada has only one win in its last seven matches and coach Juan Anquela was jeered by the home crowd in the final minutes.

Levante, meanwhile, snatched a draw at Celta thanks to an exquisite passing combination which ended with substitute Roger Marti scoring the equalizer one minute from time.

After Levante’s Obafemi Martins had come close twice, Celta forward Enrique de Lucas took Iago Aspas’ through ball and beat goalkeeper Gustavo Munua with a low strike to put the hosts in front in the 37th.

And Celta looked set to get its second straight win until Jose Barkero lobbed a perfectly timed pass wide to Miguel “Michel” Alfonso who fired in a cross for Roger to volley home.

Mallorca looked set to take firm command of the match when Zaragoza’s Glenn Loovens was sent off in the 13th for fouling Emiliano Nsue in the area.

But Zaragoza goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez blocked the resulting penalty by Victor Casadesus, and two minutes later in the 16th Helder Postiga scored the visitors’ opener when two Mallorca defenders flubbed a clearance and let the striker roll the ball in.

Mallorca sent on extra attacking players to press its advantage, and after his teammates missed several chances, Victor made up for his earlier miss by heading in an out-swinging cross from Giovani Dos Santos to split the points in the 85th.

On Saturday, leader Barcelona thrashed Athletic Bilbao 5-1 to set the best start in the history of the Spanish league with 13 wins and one draw.

Real Madrid beat second-place Atletico 2-0, Getafe edged out Malaga 1-0, and Valencia fired coach Mauricio Pellegrino after losing 5-2 to Real Sociedad.

Osasuna beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 on Friday.

Valladolid is at Sevilla on Monday.

Soccer Recap: Napoli crushes Pescara, closes in on Juventus is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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