Giovanni Di Lorenzo made certain Napoli will keep prime of Serie A this weekend after firing the winner in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Lecce to maneuver his workforce 5 factors clear. Captain Di Lorenzo bundled house the one objective of a scrappy recreation in Naples after Scott McTominay’s header from a nook was saved by Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone, giving Napoli their fourth win in as many matches. The Italy full-back’s third objective of the season for Napoli got here after he was denied within the first half when his close-range end was rightly dominated out for offside.
Napoli are comfortably forward of second-placed Inter Milan, who host Juventus on Sunday within the greatest match to this point of their league title defence.
“It was a very vital match for us, we tried in each manner doable to attain and in the long run we managed to do it,” mentioned Di Lorenzo to DAZN.
Antonio Conte’s aspect created little else towards spirited Lecce, who stay second from backside on 5 factors after a fourth straight defeat, as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Matteo Politano began on the bench.
Romelu Lukaku fluffed Napoli’s finest probability of the match when he skied over from contained in the six-yard field 9 minutes after half-time, and the hosts had been panicky within the closing minutes as Lecce pushed for a leveller.
Lecce got here into the match on the again of final weekend’s 6-0 house hammering by the hands of Fiorentina which put coach Luca Gotti’s job in danger however went toe-to-toe with Napoli and on one other day might have simply left with some extent.
“I do not prefer to lose, even with our heads held excessive,” mentioned Gotti.
“However I will take the perspective of our gamers as we speak, let’s hope we are able to take it into the approaching matches.”
Gasperini’s four-hundredth match
On Tuesday, Napoli journey to the San Siro to face AC Milan, who sit sixth and won’t play this weekend after Saturday’s match at Bologna was postponed on account of torrential rain and flooding.
Bologna and its surrounding areas are nonetheless reeling from an enormous downpour over final weekend which claimed the lifetime of a 20-year-old man.
On Friday Serie A president Lorenzo Casini mentioned the match would probably be performed in February as a result of two golf equipment’ Champions League commitments and Milan’s involvement within the four-team Italian Tremendous Cup which might be performed in Saudi Arabia in early January.
Atalanta celebrated Gian Piero Gasperini’s four-hundredth match as coach by destroying Verona 6-1 with a surprising show during which they raced right into a five-goal lead in simply over half an hour.
Marten de Roon, Charles De Ketelaere and doubles from Serie A prime scorer Mateo Retegui and Ademola Lookman fired Atalanta as much as fourth, stage on 16 factors with Juventus, and made up for Wednesday’s irritating goalless draw with Celtic within the Champions League.
“We had been dissatisfied with the Celtic recreation as we created hundreds. As we speak we scored loads of objectives,” mentioned Retegui who has scored 10 occasions in his first 9 league matches with Atalanta.
“It is right down to the religion proven in me by the lads and the followers. I’ve acquired numerous teammates with numerous expertise who’ve helped me combine properly within the workforce.”
The hosts went forward within the sixth minute when De Roon thumped house Lookman’s cross, and the match was successfully over by the 14th minute after Retegui and De Ketelaere each curled in tremendous left-footed strikes.
Verona acquired the remedy Celtic ought to have suffered and coach Paolo Zanetti regarded shellshocked on the sidelines as Lookman first skipped previous three gamers and drilled house on the close to publish earlier than tapping in Ederson’s low cross within the thirty fourth minute.
Amin Sarr scored a comfort objective within the forty second minute and Atalanta took their foot off the fuel after the break, solely including to their rating as soon as by means of a Retegui tap-in.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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