Napoli 2-0 Hellas Verona: Serie A leaders move four points clear

Napoli increased their lead at the Serie A summit to four points after easing to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Hellas Verona at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Following Inter’s win against Venezia earlier on Sunday, Antonio Conte’s side produced a professional display to put them in pole position to claim this season’s Scudetto.

Napoli raced into the lead in the fifth minute when Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s effort hit the post and bounced into the net off visiting goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo.

The hosts should have doubled their advantage soon after when Scott McTominay picked out an unmarked Frank Anguissa, but he blazed his shot way over the crossbar.

Romelu Lukaku then turned an effort from close range just past the left-hand post, before McTominay saw his effort deflect narrowly wide of Montipo’s goal.

Napoli’s dominance continued after the break and were rewarded for their perseverance through Anguissa, who sent a stunning strike from outside the box into the net.

Though Verona did come back into the contest, with Alex Meret saving from substitute Grigoris Kastanos late on, the damage had already been done by Napoli.

Data Debrief: Clean sheets win titles

Conte has made a name for being a forward-thinking head coach during his managerial career, but Napoli’s stern defensive rearguard this season has them dreaming of a fourth Scudetto title.

Napoli have now kept 12 clean sheets in the first 20 games in a single Serie A season for the first time since the 1981-82 campaign, restricting Sunday’s opponents to just two efforts on target.

They have also won without conceding a goal in two home matches in a row in Serie A under Conte for the first time since the period between October and November 2022 (vs Sassuolo and Empoli under Luciano Spalletti).

Only against Atalanta (23 between 1956 and 1996) and Udinese (21 between 1952 and 1996) have Napoli recorded a longer home unbeaten streak than with Verona in Serie A (20 – won 15, drawn five).