It had been 515 days since Dries Mertens had pushed in two more in a match. His last double against AS Roma was on October 23, 2019 in the Champions League against Salzburg.
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The day he left Diego Maradona in SSC Napoli’s all-time top scorer stand. The era when Carlo Ancelotti was still on the couch in Naples, not Gattuso. The period when Ciro was not yet the best goalscorer of all time at Napoli.
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After his ankle injury at the end of last year and the relapse in early 2021, Mertens can finally peak back to his best shape. He claimed against AS Roma. With a handsome free kick, he gave Napoli the lead. Even before the break, he doubled the score. A rare one with the head – so he can do that too. His hundredth in Serie A. Beyond the hour Osimhen came to relieve him. 0-2 was also the final score.
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The Red Devil is the third Napoli player to score a hundred times in the Italian first division. Did it for him: Antonio Vojak (102) and Marek Hamšik (100). Vojak’s record may soon be set.
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Mertens is already Napoli’s all-time top scorer with 133 hits across all competitions.
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