Simeon ‘Simy’ Nwankwo and Joel Obi came on in the second half but ended on the losing side as Napoli pipped Salernitana 1-0 to remain top on the log.
Victor Osimhen did not feature for the Serie A leaders due to muscle injury.
The win saw Napoli now on 31 points go three points clear of second-placed AC Milan, who will be guests to Roma later on Sunday.
Napoli enjoyed the better of the first half exchanges but couldn’t break the deadlock, with Piotr Zielinski coming closest early on.
They finally broke through on the hour mark, as substitute Andrea Petagna headed against the crossbar but Zielinski made no mistake from the follow up, bringing the ball down and finding a gap to slot home.
Salernitana’s task was made all the more difficult with 20 minutes remaining, when Grigoris Kastanos caught Andre-Frank Anguissa’s ankle with a poor tackle and was shown a red card after a VAR check.
However, Napoli captain Kalidou Koulibalywas also sent off for pulling back Simy when clean through on goal.
Salernitana remain in the relegation zone in 19th spot on seven points.
