Venezia beat Napoli 1-0 as Stankovic saves De Bruyne penalty

Venezia beat Napoli 1-0 at the Stadio Penzo. Akor Adams broke the deadlock early in the second half, then Filip Stankovic saved a Kevin De Bruyne penalty to preserve his side’s lead. The victory marked Davide Nicola’s first match as Venezia coach and ended the hosts’ run of defeats.

Napoli had more of the possession but could not turn its pressure into a goal. Four minutes into the second half, Adams found the net after the ball fell kindly to him in the area. Napoli responded by raising the tempo and bringing on Rasmus Hojlund and De Bruyne, while Venezia defended with confidence. A chance to equalise came after Hojlund was brought down in the box. De Bruyne took the penalty, but Stankovic read the direction and kept out his effort. Venezia’s goalkeeper made further saves late on as Napoli searched for a way through.

The result gave Venezia its first league points of the season. The Serie A standings provided place Napoli ninth on 10 points and Venezia 20th on three, a seven-point gap between them. Across the seven Serie A matches counted, Napoli had three wins, one draw and three defeats, while Venezia had one win and six defeats. The sides also brought different recent records into the match: Napoli had two wins, one draw and two defeats in its last five Serie A games, compared with one win and four defeats for Venezia.

Nicola said his half-time appeal for supporters to encourage Adams was not a reprimand for an earlier mistake by the striker. “Seeing this enthusiasm, and especially seeing Adams over these days, his attitude, what he puts into it and the personality he has shown me, how he throws himself at every ball — of course he makes mistakes, as everyone does,” the coach said. Nicola was also pleased with his team’s effort.

Napoli coach Massimiliano Allegri said his side had created enough to take something from the match. He pointed to the 29 shots and the missed penalty, adding that playing with one more or one fewer centre-back would not have changed the outcome. Napoli left the match without a point, while Venezia secured the win through Adams’s goal and Stankovic’s decisive save.