Dream debut for Nicola as Venezia beat Napoli; Stanković saves De Bruyne penalty
In their first game under Davide Nicola, Venezia beat Napoli for their first win of the season. Akor Adams scores and goalkeeper Filip Stanković saves a Kevin De Bruyne penalty.
Archive image · Photo: Sandrino 14 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Davide Nicola won on his debut as Venezia coach as the previously pointless club beat Napoli 1-0 in the seventh round of Serie A for their first victory of the season. Nicola took over from Paolo Stroppa. Akor Adams scored in the 49th minute after Amir Rrahmani misjudged a headed clearance, beating Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Napoli had a big chance to equalize in the 67th minute, but Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stanković saved Kevin De Bruyne's penalty, awarded for a foul by defender Moreno on Rasmus Højlund. In stoppage time, Stanković tipped another shot away with his fingertips. It was Napoli's second straight defeat after a Champions League loss during the week.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri said there was no point worrying today but that he understood the mood. "On Tuesday we have the Champions League and we must restart immediately," he said at his news conference. Nicola was modest, saying that given how Napoli played, Venezia could also have failed to win.