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Napoli's star is born as Ezequiel Lavezzi was inspirational in an historic 5-0 triumph at the Stadio Friuli.
The Friulani got off to a great start by holding reigning champions Inter 1-1 at San Siro, but Napoli boss Edy Reja's job was already on the line after their shock 2-0 home defeat to Cagliari. That was their first loss at the San Paolo in over two years and cast a shadow over the comeback celebrations.
It was a special day for Fabio Quagliarella and Antonio Floro Flores, who are Neapolitans born and bred. Antonio Di Natale picked up an injury in the Coppa Italia midweek and was on the bench, while Gaetano D'Agostino was sidelined by flu.
Napoli's three South American summer signings combined for a fine goal. Walter Gargano's long ball forward set Ezequiel Lavezzi running down the left and he pulled back for Marcelo Zalayeta's tap-in at the near post.
Fabio Quagliarella's free kick was well beaten away and another set-piece by Floro Flores was deflected to cause problems for the goalkeeper.
Gennaro Iezzo performed a stunning one-handed save as Gyan Asamoah flicked on an Eremenko strike, but when the Ghanaian slotted on the rebound, he was in an offside position.
Argentine hitman Lavezzi was particularly impressive for Napoli, his dribbling skills and nutmegs on either flank delighting the crowds. There was controversy on 36 minutes when Lavezzi was hacked down by Zapata. The referee gave the free kick on the edge of the area, but replays suggest the foul may have been inside the box.
Napoli were dominating at the Stadio Friuli and got themselves a deserved second before half-time. A corner kick was held up by Zalayeta and flicked on again by Paolo Cannavaro for Maurizio Domizzi's volley from seven yards.
Eremenko set up a good chance that Floro Flores drilled over, but it was all Napoli.
Lavezzi celebrated his first Serie A goal in some style. He gathered a crossfield pass from Uruguayan international Gargano, cut back to wrongfoot Dossena and smashed his left-foot finish low into the far corner.
It was 4-0 and Udinese disappeared from the field entirely. Antonio Chimenti missed the low and hardly irresistable Grava cross, but Zalayeta was clear to tap in at the back post.
Lavezzi has been compared to Diego Armando Maradona and has already won over the hearts of the Napoli fans. He set up a simple finish for substitute and fellow Argentine Roberto Sosa, scoring against his former club.
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