Napoli were 2-1 winners over Torino at the Stadio San Paolo in their Wednesday evening Serie A fixture and first of 2016.
Lorenzo Insigne gave the Partenopei the lead only for Fabio Quagliarella to level the score, but Marek Hamsik scored the winner shortly after.
Gonzalo Higuain looked to continue where he left off last year with his goal-scoring exploits, sending the ball goal-bound after it bounced off Kamil Glik but Daniele Padelli blocked it. Jose Callejon was next to trouble the Torino shot-stopper, requiring him to charge out and stop the Spaniard in his tracks.
Padelli came to the rescue once again, reaching out and getting a finger on a driven effort from Callejon; despite being wrong-footed. However, the resolute goalkeeping of Padelli was soon to be undone. A lovely move involving Higuain, captain Marek Hamsik and finally Lorenzo Insigne saw the Italian hit the ball sweetly on the half-volley to put it out of the reach of Padelli.
The visitors hit back through former Napoli striker Fabio Quagliarella. A great cross from Cristian Molinaro found the 32 year-old in the air, but Pepe Reina reached down to turn the header back into play. Much to the surprise of all watching,
Torino were awarded a penalty after Faouzi Ghoulam was adjudged to have felled Bruno Peres; the decision seeming dubious. Quagliarella stepped up to power it into the back of the net despite Reina making contact. The elation was short lived. Hamsik received the ball in the area from Insigne, darted forward and placed it into the far corner to restore the Napoli lead.
In the second half the game became much more scrappy. A late chance presented itself for substitute Dries Mertens, but his shot bobbed just wide of the far post. Mercifully, the hosts held on to take all three points.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com