With Gianluigi Buffon’s place between the Juventus sticks unassailable for all eternity, deputy goalkeeper Neto gets to strut his stuff in the Coppa Italia. On Wednesday, Napoli substitute Dries Mertens took full advantage of that change.
The 29-year-old came on in the 61st-minute and immediately leveled the score at 2-2. Impact sub, super sub, managerial tactical masterstroke, insane goalkeeping blunder — whatever you want to call it, this was some heads-up hustle from Mertens.
He sprints onto the field, showing the lads he’s ready to work, and he begins angling towards goal. You can literally see his eyes light up (yes, they start to glow) as he bears down on Neto, who’s apparently just flicking around his trick stick in an attempt to do some dope moves.
Mertens goes in a bee line from midfield to the ball and into the back of the net. 11 seconds, that’s all it took. Mertens has 26 goals in all competitions this season for Napoli, which is a little extravagant for an attacking midfielder.
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