Dries Mertens goal gives Napoli first-half lead and hope

It’s a big day for Napoli — the final day of the season, and with a chance to finish the campaign in second place and see another partenopei star win the capocannoniere title as the top scorer in Serie A. Dries Mertens did his best to help accomplish both of those things, scoring a 36th minute goal to give Napoli a crucial lead and put himself in position to potentially take the scoring crown.

The shot from the edge of the box was taken with outrageously casual ease, whipped across his body in such a way that it caught everyone in Sampdoria’s defense off guard. Though if anything, it was actually a fairly typical goal for Mertens this season, who has made the incredible almost normal all campaign long.

The goal put Napoli provisionally into second place in Serie A, with Roma drawing in Genoa when it was scored, and with that score holding as of the time of writing. It also puts Mertens one goal behind Roma striker Edin Dzeko in the capocannoniere standings, and we all know just how much Mertens loves to score goals in bunches.