Goran Pandev proved key for Napoli as he played a part in one goal and then scored the game winner directly from a free kick to send Napoli to the next round of the Coppa Italia.

Goran Pandev started the game on the bench for Napoli before he came on at the start of the 2nd half replacing recent January signing Eduardo Vargas.  Pandev was lively and proved instrumental in helping Napoli revert a 0:1 halftime deficit after the visitors took the initial lead in the 20th minute.  On the first goal for Napoli in the 65th minute, Pandev’s free kick from about 25 meters was saved by Cesena keeper Nicola Ravaglia but striker Edinson Cavani scored on the rebound to tie the game at 1:1.  Then, in the 86th minute, Pandev gave Napoli the win when he scored directly from a free kick.  It came from a tight angle on the right hand side as the Cesena players then stormed the assistant referee arguing that the ball did not cross the line.  However, replays showed that Pandev’s free kick barely crossed the line just before the Cesena keeper could make contact with the ball.

With the narrow 2:1 home victory over Cesena, Napoli managed to advance to the next round of the Italian Cup where they will face the winner of the matchup between Inter and Genoa.  If Inter advances, then Pandev will have a chance to get some revenge against his former team.  Napoli was a lot more active in the 2nd half with the introduction of Pandev after a sluggish 1st half.  With today’s goal, Goran has now reached the back of the net in three consecutive games for Napoli.

To watch Pandev’s role on the first goal, click here, and here for the game winning goal.