Cremonese falls into Serie A relegation zone after drubbing at Napoli

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NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli beat Cremonese 4-0 and sent it into the Serie A relegation zone on Friday.

Scott McTominay got the opener after three minutes with Kevin De Bruyne providing the assist, his first in Serie A since signing from Manchester City last summer.

De Bruyne got the third goal on the stroke of halftime with a close-range shot in a packed penalty box. Two minutes earlier, Danish forward Rasmus Højlund’s shot was deflected past his own goalkeeper by Filippo Terracciano to make it 2-0 for the home side.

Alisson Santos added the fourth early in the second half with a fine solo effort as Napoli overran its struggling opponent.

McTominay should have made it 5-0 seven minutes from time but Emil Audero got down brilliantly to save his penalty.

Cremonese dropped into third-to-last place, equal on points with Lecce but with an inferior goal difference.

Lecce can lift itself out the relegation zone with a point or a win on Saturday against joint-bottom side Verona.

Napoli, meanwhile, moved three points above AC Milan into second place. Inter Milan leads the league by nine points.

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