Napoli hammer Palermo in cup tie marred by fan trouble

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.