Midtjylland 1-4 Napoli: Gabbiadini nets brace in comfortable victory

The winger bagged two in the first-half, following Jose Callejon's opener, and Gonzalo Higuain then completed the scoring in the final minutes of the encounter

Napoli made it three wins from three in the group stages of the Europa League, as goals from Jose Callejon,Manolo Gabbiadini and Gonzalo Higuain wrapped up a comfortable 4-1 victory in Denmark againstMidtjylland.

First and second place butted heads in Group D, with both sides coming into the clash in fine veins of domestic form, but the Serie A outfit were to make the most of their momentum.

Callejon opened the scoring in the 19th minute, with the ex-Real Madrid forward able to expertly guide home a long ball upfield from Kalidou Koulibaly. The Spaniard lifted a looping, volleyed effort over the onrushing goalkeeper Mikkel Andersen, to give the visitors the early advantage.

Gabbiadini doubled the Partenopei's lead just after the half-hour mark. The ex-Sampdoria striker cushioned home a neat finish, which kissed the inside of the left-hand post, following fantastic work down the right from Allan.

On 40 minutes, Gabbiadini once again found himself among the goals. Omar El Kaddouri found the Italy international with a pass that sat up nicely, allowing for the Napoli man to lash a dipping 20-yard effort into the top left-hand corner.

Midtjylland did respond just before the break, in a first half dominated by the visitors, with Martin Pusicscrambling home a scrappy, close-range finish in the aftermath of an uncleared corner delivery.

After the interval, chances proved to be much more elusive, with Sarri's men looking to slow play down and protect their advantage, though Marek Hamsik and Higuain were injected into the second-half fray.

The latter grabbed a stoppage-time goal to put the icing on the cake, after a neat through ball from El Kaddouri. The Argentina international fired home with consummate ease, to seal an important victory for the Serie A outfit.

Napoli go three points clear at the top of Group D, putting a dent in Midtjylland's qualification hopes in the process. The Partenopei's recent steamrolling form shows no signs of stopping any time soon.