Napoli produced a scintillating display of football and defeated Ajax 6-1 at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam on Matchday 3 of the Champions League.
Despite trailing early after a goal from Ajax striker Mohammed Kudus, the Partenopei recovered quickly with Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, and Piotr Zielinski finding the back of the net in the first half.
Further gloss was added to the win in the second half with Raspadori scoring his second, and then Kvicha Kvaratskhelia as well as Giovanni Simeone joining in the proceedings.
Napoli are clear on top of Group A with nine points while Ajax are third with three, and the two sides will face each other again on Matchday 4 in Naples next Thursday.
Napoli run rampant from the start
Napoli were eager to attack from the beginning, so much so, that they botched the kick-off after one player ran into the opposition half too soon, and it had to be retaken.
Ajax took the lead after nine minutes when a low cross was deflected off Amir Rrahmani, Kenneth Taylor then aimed for goal, and his shot was deflected into the net by Mohammed Kudus.
Raspadori equalised in the 18th minute when after an exchange of passes, the ball was sent to Mathias Olivera, and his cross from the left was headed in by the Italian international.
Both chances Di Lorenzo gave Napoli the lead after 33 minutes when Piotr Zielinski played the corner short to Kvaratskhelia, and Di Lorenzo leaped high to head the ball into the net.
The Partenopei were close to scoring a third when Zielinski forced a save out of Pasveer while Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa failed to get the rebound on target.
However, Napoli did made it 3-1 on the stroke of half-time when Zambo Anguissa sent Zielinski clear and beat Pasveer with consummate ease.
No mercy shown on Ajax after the break
Napoli did not relent at the start of the second half and the Neapolitans went 4-1 up just two minutes after the break. Zambo Anguissa intercepted an errant pass from the Ajax defence and Raspadori side-footed the ball into the net.
Kvaratskhelia added the fifth goal for the Partenopei in the 63rd minute when he played a one-two with Raspadori and bent a shot past Pasveer.
Ajax kept leaving gaps in defence and the Dutch giants went down to 10 men after Dusan Tadic used his arm to impede Olivera and received his second yellow card for the match.
The Neapolitans had a plethora of chances and they eventually made it 6-1 thanks to two substitutes combining. Tanguy Ndombele flicked the ball forward with the outside of his right foot and Simeone smashed the shot into the net.
Ndombele nearly added a seventh goal but his effort had hit the crossbar.
