Napoli beat Olympiacos 2-1, with Politano and Lucca scoring
Lukaku injured in first half; Hezze and De Bruyne booked
Lucca’s counter finish secures win; Chiquinho scores late consolation
Napoli 2-1 Olympiacos: Romelu Lukaku Forced Off After Injury In Final Friendly
Just after the half-hour mark, Romelu Lukaku tried to double Napoli's lead, but the Belgian went down in pain after his shot. He managed to walk off the field but couldn’t continue for the remainder of the half
Summary
Napoli finished their pre-season campaign with an intense 2-1 win over Olympiacos on Thursday.
Matteo Politano and Lorenzo Lucca scored either side of the break for the Serie A Champions, who lost striker Romelu Lukaku to a suspected quad injury in the first half, while Chiquinho scored a late consolation goal for Olympiacos.
Politano opened the scoring after 16 minutes with a stunning effort from the right wing. He drove into the opposition box before cutting onto his left foot and curling the ball around Mikos Notis in the Olympiacos goal.
Lukaku looked to double Napoli's lead just after the half-hour mark, but the Belgium international fell to the ground in pain after taking his shot. He was able to walk off the field but could not see out the rest of the half.
Tensions started to rise, with Santiago Hezze and Kevin De Bruyne both receiving yellow cards, before Antonio Conte lost his temper following a reckless challenge from Ayoub El Kaabi on Politano.
Lucca, who replaced Lukaku in the first half, then secured the win for Napoli after finishing off a swift counter-attack in the 54th minute. De Bruyne carried the ball from the centre circle to the edge of the box before laying it off to Scott McTominay, who squared it to Lucca for a simple finish in the six-yard box.
There were just two minutes of additional time shown in the second half, but that was enough time for Chiquinho to get on the scoresheet for Olympiacos after a mistake by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the 91st minute.
Data Debrief: Lucca enjoys promising pre-season
Napoli end their pre-season with three consecutive wins, following victories against Girona and Sorrento. They start their Serie A title defence against Sassuolo on August 23.
One player who will be looking forward to that match is Lucca. The 24-year-old, who joined on loan from Udinese this summer, has scored in four of his six pre-season games with Napoli.
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He found the net 12 times in 33 Serie A appearances for Udinese last season.
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