Mertens hat-trick keeps Napoli's title hopes alive

Maurizio Sarri's side has stuttered of late with two defeats in its last three, however it brushed aside Bologna with ease to cut Juventus' lead to six points.

Napoli forward Dries Mertens celebrates after scoring a goal against Bologna.

Dries Mertens fired a second-half hat-trick to keep Napoli in the Scudetto race as it crushed Bologna 6-0 in Serie A on Tuesday.

Maurizio Sarri's side has stuttered of late with two defeats in its last three, however it brushed aside Bologna with ease to cut Juventus' lead to six points.

Manolo Gabbiadini opened the scoring after 10 minutes following a fine throughball from Mertens, the 24-year-old firing first time to beat Antonio Mirante from a tight angle. The striker added a second from the penalty spot after Jose Callejon had been fouled in the area, with Gabbiadini – leading the line in place of the suspended Gonzalo Higuain – making no mistake for his fifth of the campaign.

After Gabbiadini's efforts it was time for Mertens to take centre stage and the 28-year-old added Napoli's third with a low shot that crept through Mirante's legs. He made it 4-0 with 10 minutes to play, slotting home after taking Omar El Kaddouri's pass in his stride.

Napoli was far from done, though, as Mertens completed his hat-trick with a shot from distance and David Lopez added a sixth to complete a miserable night for Bologna, which remains seven points above the bottom three.