Andreas Schillinger, made their move near the 30-kilometer mark

NAPLES, Italy -- Not missing Gonzalo Higuain in the least, Napoli tightened its grip on Group B of the Champions League with a convincing 4-2 win over Benfica on Wednesday.Captain Marek Hamsik opened the scoring with a header after 20 minutes, and Napoli opened the floodgates early in the second half with three goals -- two of them from Dries Mertens -- in the space of seven minutes.Mertens scored his first with a beautiful free kick that floated over Benficas wall before dipping down into the net. Arkadiusz Milik, the 22-year-old Poland center forward brought in to replace Higuain, converted a penalty before Mertens added another from close range after goalkeeper Julio Cesar made a miscalculation.Substitutes Goncalo Guedes and Eduardo Salvio scored late for Benfica.We showed that we can belong in this competition, Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri said. Knocking out a top-level squad like this is not easy.Having opened with a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Dynamo Kiev, Napoli has six points from two games and looks improved despite Higuains Italian-record transfer to domestic rival Juventus for 90 million euros ($99 million).Besiktas has two points after drawing 1-1 with Dynamo in the other group match, while Dynamo and Benfica have one each.We played a great match and we obtained a great result against a top-level squad, Hamsik said. Too bad we conceded those two goals at the end but it was still a great match.Napoli had never before scored four goals in the Champions League, and the outburst came a day after Juventus 4-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.Could this match be taken as a response to Juves performance?Napoli is here, Hamsik said. It was a big victory.After two seasons without Champions League action, Napolis San Paolo stadium was buzzing.Perhaps the only hindrance to the match being a sellout were expensive ticket prices, with the cheapest seats selling for 40 euros ($45). In a protest against the high costs, a banner hanging from the Curva B where Napolis hard-core ultra fans sit proclaimed the area the Settore popolare -- working class sector.Napoli controlled the game right from the start, with Milik set up by a long pass from Faouzi Ghoulam only to produce a weak shot on goal less than 20 seconds after kickoff.Benfica came close a few minutes later when Nelson Semedo rolled a cross into the area, before defender Elseid Hysaj was able to clear the danger.Also early on, Napoli lost key center back Raul Albiol to an apparent muscle strain. The Spaniard was replaced by Nikola Maksimovic, who made his Napoli debut with the poise of a veteran.A minute before Hamsiks opener, Benfica defender Alex Grimaldo prevented a golden opportunity for the hosts with an acrobatic interception of a cross from Mertens that was heading directly for Jose Callejon in front of the goal.Hamsik then beat his marker to meet a corner from Ghoulam and deliver a header inside the near post for his 101st goal in a Napoli shirt, placing him within 14 goals of Diego Maradonas club record.Benfica sorely missed injured striker Jonas, the Brazilian who scored 32 goals in 34 Portuguese league matches last season.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf Cheap Fred Lynn Jersey . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Cheap Tony Conigliaro Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. http://www.cheapredsoxjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-jim-rice-jersey . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Authentic . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Cheap Nomar Garciaparra Jersey . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. LIMOGES, France -- Hit by a virus, denied a place on the Tour de France and then parting company with his team, not much went right last season for German sprinter Marcel Kittel.Now hes back with a vengeance.Kittel claimed his ninth stage win at cyclings biggest race in a mass sprint on Tuesday, as the fourth leg of the Tour took the peloton from the medieval town of Saumur to Limoges in central France.For me the victory means a lot, because I know how hard my way back to this moment was, said Kittel, who was fighting back the tears at the podium ceremony.Kittel, who wore the race leaders yellow jersey in 2013 and 2014, joined the Etixx Quick Step team from Giant-Alpecin for this season, replacing the departing Mark Cavendish.The new partnership has been extremely successful so far. Kittel has been the dominant sprinter this year, claiming 11 victories including back-to-back stage wins at the Giro dItalia.At the Tour, he got off to a disappointing start, getting beaten by Cavendish in the opening stage and missing out on a chance to wear the yellow jersey. So when the German held off Frenchman Bryan Coquards surge in a photo finish in Limoges, it was a huge relief.Last year was a huge setback. But I tried to take action to make changes for my future and to be able to win stages again at the Tour, Kittel said. I live for my sport. I never did anything else -- contrary to what some critics said.Kittel began his final surge for the line a little too early for comfort. But he just managed to hang on and edge Coquard.I feel very emotional right now, it feels like my first stage win again, Kittel said. Im mega, mega happy. Im very proud, because the team was really fighting for this win. Things went wrong in the last days, and Im so happy to be back in the Tour and to win a stage like this.World champion Peter Sagan finished third on the 237.5-kilometer ride and kept the yellow jersey. Courtesy of a time bonus, he extended his lead over Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe to 12 seconds in the overall standings. Spaniard Alejandro Valverde is third, 14 seconds back.It was a very fast sprint, I started too early today, the same time as Marcel started, Sagan said.dddddddddddd Coquard made a very nice sprint. He was patient and almost won.Coquards aggressive burst for the line almost paid off with his first stage win in cyclings showpiece event. He brushed shoulders with Kittel in the slightly uphill final stretch, but lost by a few millimeters.I think I belong with the greats now, Coquard said. There is no mistake in the sprints, the stronger wins. I was never as close to victory, but I havent won yet. Im young, but Im a winner... and I want to win this year on the Tour.After a first attack fizzled out soon after the start, a group of four riders managed to escape from the pack and build up a five-minute lead over the peloton.Tour debutants Oliver Naesen and Alexis Gougeard, alongside Markel Irizar and Andreas Schillinger, made their move near the 30-kilometer mark and quickly increased the gap, helped by a tail wind.Determined to defend Sagans yellow jersey, the Tinkoff team hit the front of the bunch to step up the pace in hot and sunny conditions. They organized the chase with sprint-specialist teams Lotto-Soudal and Etixx, and the gap was down to four minutes with 100 kilometers left.However, the pack was in no rush to rein in the breakaway riders on the winding roads of the lush green Limousin countryside.Gougeard was dropped from the leading group with 35 kilometers left, moments before the pursuit really started in the hilly finale to Limoges. The remaining trio was swallowed up during a short climb seven kilometers from the finish.On the eve of the first mountain stage, the races main favorites Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana enjoyed a quiet day. Froome, a two-time Tour champion, is in fifth position overall, 18 seconds behind Sagan. Quintana is seventh with the same time as Froome.Wednesdays Stage 5 features four difficult climbs including the second-category Pas de Peyrol, the highest road pass in the Massif Central with an average gradient of 8.1 percent. ' ' '