Rasmus Hojlund made an instant impact on his Napoli debut, scoring as the Italian side cruised past Fiorentina 3-1, with additional goals coming from a Kevin De Bruyne penalty and Sam Beukema’s tap-in.
Napoli, who had already won their opening two matches, though needing a last-minute strike to overcome Cagliari in Week 2, fielded Hojlund and Beukema for the first time, with Amir Rrahmani joining Miguel Gutierrez and Romelu Lukaku on the injury list.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, struggled in the Conference League play-offs and had drawn both Serie A fixtures against Cagliari and Torino, with Albert Gudmundsson and Christian Kouame unavailable, while Hans Nicolussi Caviglia and Tariq Lamptey made the bench.
The game started at a frenetic pace, with Giovanni Di Lorenzo charging down Napoli’s left and attempting to feed Scott McTominay, only for Fiorentina to clear off the line twice.
Napoli soon won a penalty when Pietro Comuzzo brought down Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, allowing De Bruyne to confidently convert by sending David De Gea the wrong way.
Hojlund then marked his debut with a sublime finish, darting behind Marin Pongracic following a Leonardo Spinazzola through ball and calmly slotting the ball past De Gea from a tight angle.
Fiorentina’s first real chance came in the 19th minute when Rolando Mandragora’s effort deflected wide after Moise Kean’s miscontrol.
De Gea reacted well to tip a deflected De Bruyne strike, while Di Lorenzo prevented an own-goal with a timely interception from Kean’s attempt.
Napoli continued to dominate, with Hojlund setting up Matteo Politano for a shot that De Gea saved, leading to a corner that eventually allowed Beukema to tap in Napoli’s third goal, his first for the club.
A near fourth followed as De Gea palmed away a deflected McTominay strike, with Politano’s rebound striking the post.
Fiorentina pulled one back when a Nicolussi Caviglia corner was flicked on by Lorenzo Lucca to Luca Ranieri, who drilled a low shot past Milinkovic-Savic.
The Viola pressed on, with Comuzzo’s header deflected off Alessandro Buongiorno and Jacopo Fazzini testing Milinkovic-Savic from a volley.
Piccoli’s breakaway was thwarted by the goalkeeper, and Gosens’ glancing header narrowly missed from another corner. David Neres’ mazy run eventually allowed Eljif Elmas a close-range effort, only for De Gea to make another crucial save.
In the end, Napoli’s clinical finishing and Hojlund’s impressive debut performance sealed a dominant victory over Fiorentina.
