Napoli wins 5-3 against Torino in Serie A

Napoli defeated Torino (9th) 5-3, with a four-goal performance by Belgian Dries Mertens, and climbed to third place in the Italian Serie A standings, on matchday 17.

Juventus (1st, 42 points) defeated Roma (2nd, 35) 1-0 on Saturday in the weekend's standout match, with a goal from Argentine Gonzalo Higuain. Napoli now closes in on second place, only one point behind the capital team. However, they still trail the lead by 8 points, with the current leader having an impressive record of 14 wins and 3 losses in seventeen matches.

With three goals in less than ten minutes, Mertens almost sealed the victory for Napoli (in the 13th, 18th from a penalty, and 22nd minute). Andrea Belotti, the young Italian football promise, scored in the 58th minute to reduce the deficit, but Romanian Vlad Chiriches extended Napoli's lead in the 70th minute.

Torino managed to reduce the disadvantage once again, with Luca Rossettini scoring in the 76th minute, before Mertens completed his poker with Napoli's fifth goal in the 80th minute. Iago Falque, from a penalty in the 84th minute, scored the final goal for Torino, but it was not enough for a comeback that was never close.

"I don't know if Napoli is better than the rest of the teams, but what is certain is that they play better," praised Torino's coach, Sinisa Mihajlovic. Belotti managed to reach his 12th goal in this Serie A season, joining Bosnian Edin Dzeko (Roma) and Argentine Mauro Icardi (Inter) as the league's top scorers. Higuain, after his goal on Saturday, is fourth with 10 goals, the same as Mertens after his four-goal performance yesterday.