Vergara’s stunning goal evokes Maradona magic in Napoli’s crucial Champions League match

By Canadian Press on January 28, 2026.

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli midfielder Antonio Vergara scored a stunning goal that had echoes of Diego Maradona in the stadium named after the Argentine soccer great.

It was an impressive way for the locally born, 23-year-old Vergara to score his first goal for Napoli and his first in the Champions League.

Napoli was trailing 1-0 against Chelsea on Wednesday in a game that it needed to win to keep its Champions League hopes alive when Vergara leveled in the 33rd minute.

Vergara collected a loose ball and surged toward goal before beating Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana with a lovely pirouette and firing across into the bottom left corner.

The goal had the home fans in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on their feet.

Napoli led 2-1 at halftime after Rasmus Højlund netted shortly before the break.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press