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 group 5 factors clear.
Captain Di Lorenzo bundled house the one aim 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 aim 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 largest match thus far of their league title defence.
“It was a extremely necessary match for us, we tried in each means attainable to attain and in the long run we managed to do it,” stated Di Lorenzo to DAZN.
Antonio Conte’s facet created little else in opposition to 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 greatest 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 ultimate 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 may have simply left with some extent.
“I do not wish to lose, even with our heads held excessive,” stated Gotti.
“However I am going to take the perspective of our gamers right this moment, let’s hope we will 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 stated the match would seemingly be performed in February because of the two golf equipment’ Champions League commitments and Milan’s involvement within the four-team Italian Tremendous Cup which shall 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 shocking show through 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, degree on 16 factors with Juventus, and made up for Wednesday’s irritating goalless draw with Celtic within the Champions League.
“We had been upset with the Celtic recreation as we created masses. Immediately we scored loads of targets,” stated Retegui who has scored 10 instances 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 a number of teammates with a number of expertise who’ve helped me combine nicely within the group.”
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 effective left-footed strikes.
Verona acquired the remedy Celtic ought to have suffered and coach Paolo Zanetti seemed shellshocked on the sidelines as Lookman first skipped previous three gamers and drilled house on the close to submit earlier than tapping in Ederson’s low cross within the thirty fourth minute.
Amin Sarr scored a comfort aim within the forty second minute and Atalanta took their foot off the gasoline after the break, solely including to their rating as soon as via a Retegui tap-in.
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