Napoli 2-0 Monza: Politano and Kvaratskhelia propel hosts to Serie A summit

Napoli moved top of Serie A following a routine 2-0 win over Monza at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

First-half goals from Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia did the trick for Antonio Conte’s side, who leapfrogged Juventus to the summit of the table.

The hosts broke through in the 22nd minute as Politano rounded off a strong run by drilling a low shot beyond Stefano Turati in the Monza goal.

The visitors were then victims of their own downfall as Napoli doubled their lead 11 minutes later.

Turati pass out from the back went straight to Frank Anguissa, who then combined with Scott McTominay to set up Kvaratskhelia to volley home.

Though Monza improved in the second half, they were unable to truly trouble Napoli, who held out for the three points and their fourth clean sheet of the campaign.

10 – Matteo Politano is one of the only three players to have scored in each of the last 10 Serie A seasons (since 2015/16) with Duván Zapata and Paulo Dybala. Continuity.#NapoliMonza pic.twitter.com/eH3Yv94Gbt

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) September 29, 2024

Data Debrief: Politano matches Zapata and Dybala

Napoli are back at the Serie A summit for the first time since the final day of the Scudetto-winning season of 2022-23.

Politano got the ball rolling as he became one of only three players to score in each of the last 10 Serie A seasons, along with Duvan Zapata and Paulo Dybala.

Kvaratskhelia doubled the lead with what was his fifth direct goal involvement (three goals, two assists) of the campaign, a tally only bettered by AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic (six).

The Partenopei have now gone 388 minutes without conceding a goal, and have recorded three successive clean sheets in Serie A for the first time since February 2023.