NAPOLI WILL face Lazio in the last 16 of the Italian Cup after thumping 10-man Palermo 5-0 on Thursday in a match which was marred by trouble in the stands.
Cyril Ngonge’s early brace set Napoli on their way to a simple win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, before Juan Jesus made sure of passage to the next round three minutes from half-time.
Palermo’s dreadful night got even worse in the 58th minute when Aljosa Vasic was shown a straight red card for a high boot on Billy Gilmour.
The impressive David Neres then rolled home Napoli’s fourth 12 minutes later before Scott McTominay completed the rout with his first Napoli goal, seconds after replacing Giacomo Raspadori.
What should have been a complication-free evening for Napoli, who rotated ahead of Sunday’s Serie A clash with Monza, was made more difficult when rival fans began throwing flares and firecrackers at each other during half-time.
The second half was delayed by seven minutes following the latest incident between supporters as trouble has marked this week’s cup ties.
On Wednesday, there were widespread clashes between Genoa and Sampdoria’s hardcore ultras before and after their local derby, won on penalties by Samp.
Italian media report that both Genoa and Samp may have to play their next two home matches behind closed doors after dozens of injuries on a night of tension in the Italian port city.
Napoli fans were also involved in clashes with Cagliari fans in Sardinia earlier this month.
Elsewhere, Julian Alvarez struck a 90th-minute winner for Atletico Madrid to snatch them a 1-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Thursday in La Liga.
Even a single point would have flattered Diego Simeone’s side but they took all three when the Argentina international finished Antoine Griezmann’s cross at the back post.
Celta had the better chances as Atletico, third, lacked spark ahead of the derby clash against Spanish champions Real Madrid on Sunday.
Simeone started his son Giuliano for the first time after some substitute appearances in recent weeks and left star summer signing Alvarez on the bench.
Atletico failed to take a single shot in a low quality first half, while Celta threatened seriously only just before the interval, when Jan Oblak saved brilliantly from Iago Aspas’ drive.
The Slovenian goalkeeper made another superb stop from Borja Iglesias’ close-range header after 57 minutes to keep Atletico level.
However, it was Atletico who claimed victory when former Manchester City striker Alvarez, on as a substitute, stayed sharp to prod home Griezmann’s deep cross.
Earlier Ayoze Perez netted twice to claim Villarreal a 2-1 win at Espanyol, taking the Yellow Submarine fourth.
With six goals the Spain international trails only Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski in the scoring charts by one strike.
Home fans were angry with referee Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez’s lenient officiating and one threw a plastic cup which struck the official as he walked off at full-time.
Real Betis could only secure a 1-1 draw at bottom of the table Las Palmas.
Barcelona lead the league after their 1-0 win over Getafe on Wednesday with Real Madrid second, beating Alaves 3-2 on Tuesday.
