Zerbin joined the match with less than ten minutes remaining on the timer, poking in a corner at the back post following 84 minutes.
Napoli defeated Fiorentina 3-0 in their Italian Supercup semi-final on Thursday, thanks to substitute Alessio Zerbin’s two goals in just five minutes on the pitch.
Zerbin joined the game with under ten minutes remaining, knocking in a corner at the back post after 84 minutes at full capacity but hitting his head on the upright at the exact same time.
After returning following treatment, the 24-year-old scored another goal two minutes later, gaining possession in midfield and running to the outside of the box before unleashing an angled drive towards the far bottom corner.
“Zerbin possesses great qualities. However, people tend to be preoccupied with bringing in foreign players while ignoring domestic talent,” Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri remarked Mediaset.
“He scored two wonderful goals, but he is young and lacks experience in some situations, so we have to be patient. But I am confident he will have an excellent future.
After 22 minutes, Napoli broke the stalemate when Juan Jesus produced a brilliantly placed pass into the box for Giovanni Simeone to score from a sharp angle.
Just before halftime, Fiorentina attacker Jonathan Ikone was brought down by Mario Rui and awarded a penalty. However, Ikone’s spot attempt went high over the crossbar.
Fiorentina manager Vincenzo Italiano highlighted his dissatisfaction with his team’s failure to convert another penalty this season.
“We have to put an end to this ‘phobia’ of mistakes right now, because apart from Nico (Nicolas Gonzalez), we have been missing a lot of them as well as losing games due to these misses,” Italiano told reporters.
The game was played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, at the half full Al-Awwal Stadium.
The other semi-final, between Inter Milan and Lazio, is slated for Friday, with the final on Monday.
