Napoli capitalized on their Serie A title rivals being occupied with the Italian Super Cup by defeating Fiorentina 3-0 on Saturday, thus moving to the top of the table.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Antonio Conte’s side is now three points clear of Atalanta, thanks to a brilliant individual goal by David Neres in the 29th minute, a penalty from Romelu Lukaku shortly after halftime, and a composed finish from Scott McTominay in the 68th minute.
The win in Florence marked Napoli’s fourth consecutive victory in Serie A, boosting their chances of securing a fourth league title after a disappointing Scudetto defence last season.
“We’re proud of what we’re doing. Having 44 points after 19 matches was unthinkable at the start of the season,” said Conte’s assistant, Cristian Stellini, to DAZN.
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However, Napoli have played one game more than Atalanta and two more than reigning champions Inter Milan, who were absent from league action this weekend due to the Super Cup.
Inter, trailing Napoli by four points, will face city rivals AC Milan in the Super Cup final on Monday in Saudi Arabia after defeating Atalanta in the semifinals.
Atalanta will play their postponed match against Juventus on January 14, while Bologna will visit Inter the following day.
Fiorentina, sitting in sixth place, are 12 points adrift of the title race after suffering their third defeat in four matches.
The hosts were frustrated when Moise Kean’s well-taken goal was ruled out for handball just after Neres dribbled through the Fiorentina defence and finished past David de Gea.
Neres started in an unfamiliar Napoli front three, alongside full-back Leonardo Spinazzola, due to injuries to Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino acknowledged Napoli’s superiority, stating, “They deserved to win, they were much more clinical than us and punished every small mistake.”
In other matches, Venezia remained second-from-bottom after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Empoli, while relegation-threatened Verona aimed to escape the drop zone with a match against Udinese.
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