Koulibaly sent off as Napoli extend unbeaten Serie A run against Salernitana

Kalidou Koulibaly was shown a straight red card as Napoli extended their unbeaten Serie A run to 11 games this season with a 1-0 victory over Salernitana on Sunday.

The Senegal international was sent off for his reckless tackle that stopped Nigeria striker Simy Nwankwo from converting a goal-scoring opportunity in the 76th minute.

It was the first time in two years that Kouibaly was shown a straight red card in the Italian top-flight, since his sending off against Cagliari in September 2019.

Prior to his expulsion, Napoli had secured maximum points at the Stadio Arechi after Piotr Zielinski separated both teams with his only goal in the  61st minute.

Eight minutes after the opener, Salernitana were reduced to 10 men after Grigoris Kastanos was punished with a straight red card for a horror tackle on Cameroon midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Despite the absence of Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen who suffered a muscle injury in training on Saturday, Napoli held on to secure all three points that put them at the top of the Serie A table with 31 points from 11 outings.

As a result of his expulsion, Koulibaly will still miss Napoli’s next league fixture against Verona on November 11 but Allegri believes they will all be ready in time to power them to victory.

In his reaction, the former Genk star described the result as a great victory for the PDP even as they bagged their fifth straight win and result in all competitions.

“Three points and still no goals conceded. A real derby. We won and that’s the most important thing. Onwards and upwards,” Koulibaly wrote on Instragam.

Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti has returned to the stands after serving a one-game ban, and he asked Koulibaly to boost his defensive experience with his contributions.

Next up for Spalletti’s men is a league match against Verona on November 7, with Koulibaly expected to miss out as punishment.