The youngsters show the way!
On Tuesday afternoon, a few hours ahead of their senior clubmates, Paris' youngsters were up against their counterparts from Napoli at the Stadio Pasquale Ianello and claimed a 5-2 win that tightened their grip on second place in Group C.
As was the case when the two sides met previously, a fortnight ago (0-0), the Parisians quickly took control of the match against an Italian side camped out in their own half of the pitch. However, this time the Parisians quickly converted their dominance in to a goal, with Kalimuendo capping off a lightning-quick sequence of one-touch passing with a finish from point-blank range (0-1, 12'). Paris Saint-Germain's number nine and his teammates kept the pressure up and double their advantage on the stroke of half-time, Kapo beating the 'keeper with a bobbing, dipping shot from the edge of the area (0-2, 42').
The story was much the same as the second half began, with Napoli shipping another goal within minutes as Aouchiche found the back of the net with a superb half-volley (0-3, 51'). This third goal cut to the quick for the Italians and they replied by putting the pressure on Garissone Innocent's goal and pulling one back through Gaetano (1-3, 63'). Zedadka followed up quickly with a second for the home side, nodding home after Innocent had parried his initial effort (2-3, 66'). Napoli didn't get a chance to level it up, however, with Yaisien getting Paris back on track with a long-range finish on the end of a dazzling solo effort (2-4, 70'). Then Coulibaly rounded out the scoring and made certain sure of the result with an unbeatable free-kick in injury time (2-5, 90'+1) that prompted celebrations from the entire squad as the final whistle blew!
SSC NAPOLI – PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN:
UEFA Youth League – Matchday 4
Stadio Pasquale Ianniello (Frattamaggiore)
Goals: Kalimuendo (12'), Kapo (42'), Aouchiche (51'), O. Yaisien (70'), Coulibaly (90'+1) for Paris, Gaetano (63') and Zedadka (66').
SSC Napoli: D'Andrea – Zanoli, Esposito, Bartiromo – Mezzoni, Micillo, Illuminato, Vrakas, Calvano – Energe, Sgarbi. Coach: Roberto Baronio
Paris Saint-Germain: Innocent – Yapi, Kouassi, Nya, Larkeche – Fadiga, Kapo, Aouchiche – Providence, Kalimuendo, Ruiz-Atil. Coach: Regis Beunardeau
Group C standings:
1. Liverpool FC / 7 points, +4 (3 matches played)
2. Paris Saint-Germain / 7 points, +1 (4 matches played)
3. SSC Naples / 3 points, -3 (4 matches played)
4. FK Crvena zvezda / 1 point, -2 (3 matches played)