Sampdoria puts 5 on Crotone in 1-sided victory
Milan - Sampdoria crushed struggling Crotone with a five-goal blitz to move fifth in Serie A on Saturday with leaders Napoli and Inter Milan battling later for supremacy.
The Genoa club, who have a game in hand, were three goals up by half-time with Gianmarco Ferrari heading in after three minutes against his former club.
Fabio Quagliarella converted a penalty on 11 minutes after Arlind Ajeti dragged down Duvan Zapata, with Gianluca Caprari tapping in a third before the break.
Croatian forward Ante Budimir looked to have got one back for the Calabrians before half-time but the video referee confirmed his header did not cross into the goal.
Polish pair Karol Linetty and substitute Dawid Kownacki added two more for good measure in a five-minute spree from 71 minutes as Sampdoria kept their perfect home record.
Crotone - with 19 goals conceded in nine games - are just one point above the relegation zone after a fifth defeat.
Napoli are flying high with a perfect 24 points from eight games - two ahead of second-placed Inter - and a win at home would give the southerners a five-point cushion on their pursuers Inter.
The clash is between the only two unbeaten sides in Serie A.
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