Napoli defeated the Foxes to reach the knockout stage of the competition.
Napoli defeated Leicester City with a 3-2 result in their Europa League game on Thursday. The Partenopei are through to the next round, while Leicester are relegated to the Conference League.
Elmas steals the show!
Napoli came into the match without the service of their key striker Victor Osimhen. However, they still managed to cause enough problems for Leicester City’s backline.
The Italian heavyweights started the game with an early goal from Adam Ounas. Following a mistake by Yuri Tielemans in midfield, the Algerian winger scored the opener with a precise shot.
Elif Elmas doubled Napoli’s lead in the 24th minute. However, the Foxes got one back through Johnny Evans only three minutes later.
Leicester City intensified their efforts to get the equalizer after scoring the goal. The Foxes finally managed to level the game through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s strike in the 33rd minute. Following a free-kick by James Maddison, the 23-year-old volleyed the rebound into the back of the net.
At the start of the second half, both teams restarted their efforts to get the match-winner. Despite Leicester’s several chances, Napoli managed to clinch the victory through a goal in the 53rd minute. Elmas completed his brace to make up for the absence of Osimhen perfectly.
Leicester City continued their attacks throughout the second half, but they were not able to get past Napoli’s four-man backline.
Leicester City are out of the Europa League after finishing third ahead of Legia Warsaw. Napoli qualified as the second team behind Spartak Moscow on goal difference.
Napoli will face Empoli in their next league battle on Sunday, while Leicester will battle it out against Newcastle.
Player Ratings
Napoli: Meret (7); Jesus (6), Rrahmani (6), Di Lorenzo (7), Rui (7); Demme (6), Zielinski (6); Elmas (8), Lozano (6), Ounas (8); Petagna (7).
Bench: Manolas (6), Malcuitm (7), Mertens (6).
Leicester City: Schmeichel (5); Castagne (6), Evans (7), Soyuncu (6), Bertrand (6); Ndidi (6), Tielemans (6); Barnes (7), Maddison (7), Dewsbury-Hall (7); Vardy (6).
Bench: Albrighton (7), Daka (6), Soumare (6).
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