After just 15 minutes, Napoli were trailing lowly Cesena at the San Paolo. The already-relegated visitors had scored on their second real chance of the match when the defense went to sleep and Mariano Andujar flapped uselessly at a shot from Guy Defrel. The crowd was angry, and Napoli were losing a must-win match.
This just wouldn't do.
Enter Dries Mertens.
The first goal wasn't exactly pretty -- the short clip doesn't accurately show the hectic nature of the buildup and ending sequence -- but Mertens' cool head came through when he was in the right place at the right time. All goals are scored the same at the end of the match, so who cares about style points, right?
Of course, one goal wasn't enough, so two minutes later Mertens went to work again.
This time the Belgian played creator, with Manolo Gabbiadini on the receiving end of a pass from the byline after a darting run got Mertens free in space. Gabbiadini read the buildup perfectly, getting in to the right spot to redirect Mertens' pullback.
This is more like it.
