Napoli progressed into the last 16 of the Europa League after comfortably defeating Swiss side FC Zurich 2-0 at the San Paolo (5-1 on aggregate), keeping their dream of a first European title since 1989 alive.
Following a bright start from Gli Azzurri, Lorenzo Insigne came close to opening the scoring in the sixth minute, latching onto a superb pass from Adam Ounas before firing just wide.Yet it was Zurich who nearly took an unexpected lead through forward Assan Ceesay, who missed a gilt-edged chance by failing to convert Adrian Winter's swirling cross.
Napoli should have made them pay just moments later but Verdi was denied by a smart save by Brecher, before Insigne nearly capped off a wonderful team-move involving Dries Mertens in the 23rd minute, but somehow missing the target from 10 yards out.