Simeone hat-trick deals Napoli title hopes a severe blow
Soccer Football - Serie A - Fiorentina vs Napoli - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - April 29, 2018 Napoli's Elseid Hysaj in action with Fiorentina's Cristiano Biraghi REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
MILAN (Reuters) - Napoli's Serie A title hopes were dealt a potentially fatal blow on Sunday when they slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Fiorentina after defender Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off in the eighth minute and their rivals took advantage with a Giovanni Simeone hat-trick.
The defeat left Napoli four points behind leaders Juventus with three matches to play, only a week after re-igniting the title race with a last-minute win away to the Turin side.
Juventus won 3-2 at Inter Milan on Saturday after scoring twice in the last five minutes.
Soccer Football - Serie A - Fiorentina vs Napoli - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - April 29, 2018 Napoli's Pepe Reina looks dejected after the match REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini
Koulibaly was dismissed for felling Simeone as he was about to shoot. The referee at first gave Fiorentina a penalty and handed the Senegalese defender a yellow card, but changed that to a free kick for the home side and a red card for Koulibaly after reviewing the incident with the video assistant referee (VAR).
(Writing by Brian Homewood in Bern, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Soccer Football - Serie A - Fiorentina vs Napoli - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - April 29, 2018 Fiorentina's Giovanni Simeone in action REUTERS/Alberto LingriaSoccer Football - Serie A - Fiorentina vs Napoli - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - April 29, 2018 Napoli players look dejected after Fiorentina's Giovanni Simeone scores their second goal REUTERS/Alberto LingriaSoccer Football - Serie A - Fiorentina vs Napoli - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - April 29, 2018 Fiorentina's Giovanni Simeone celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Alberto LingriaSoccer Football - Serie A - Fiorentina vs Napoli - Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy - April 29, 2018 Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne in action with Fiorentina's Vincent Laurini REUTERS/Alberto Lingria
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