SSC Napoli had won their last four Serie A games – and this Sunday they added the fifth. The 2-0 win against bottom-of-the-league Hellas Verona, who also had bad luck, was never really in jeopardy.
Napoli coach Antonio Conte, who had recorded his fourth consecutive Serie A win with the recent 3-0 win in Florence, had to deal with a personnel setback in the run-up to the home game against cellar-dwelling Hellas Verona (0-0 against Udine).
Because after Osimhen (currently on loan at Galatasaray), the second championship guarantor of the glorious 2022/23 season also told the SSC coach in Kvaratskhelia that he no longer wanted to play for the Neapolitans. “Out of the blue,” as Conte had put it. The Georgian dribbling artist, nicknamed “Kvaradona”, is apparently being drawn to Paris Saint-Germain.
The home side’s attack therefore consisted of David Neres, Lukaku and the strong-shooting Politano – and from the start, they did not appear to miss Kvaratskhelia greatly. Quite the opposite: the SSC immediately piled on the pressure.
Early goal included: Captain di Lorenzo worked his way in from the right flank with Politano and, after a fine one-two with Lukaku, fired a shot on target. The ball now hit the left post, from there the back of the diving Montipo – and from the Hellas keeper’s back into the net. Ultimately, a bitter own goal for the Veronese (5th minute).
Lukaku only just missed the 2-0 shortly afterwards (12th minute), before the favorites took their foot off the accelerator a little, allowing the Gialloblu into the game. Former Nuremberg player Tengstedt thus missed two good opportunities to make it 1-1 (14th and 37th) before the half-time whistle, but McTominay had also missed the 2-0 (32nd).
Zambo Anguissa puts the lid on it from distance
The second half is quickly told: the guests from Verona surrendered to their fate away from home at the league leaders, too much risk was avoided out of respect. In addition, the offense around ex-Herthaner and ex-Cologne Duda lacked ideas for something special.
On the other side, McTominay initially failed to beat keeper Montipo (50th), while Rrahmani’s close-range header was saved by Faraoni on the line (51st). But that didn’t matter, because the decision was only postponed – until the 61st minute, when Zambo Anguissa, after a one-two with Lukaku, who thus initiated both goals, suddenly took a powerful shot and the ball went into the net at the bottom right to make the score 2:0.
That was the final score, with Napoli maintaining their lead in the league over the chasing pack, which is currently made up of runners-up Inter Milan (two games back) and Atalanta Bergamo.