Napoli defeated Hellas Verona 2-0 at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi on Sunday afternoon in Serie A, to lead the table for the first time in over two years.
Goals from Lorenzo Insigne and Gonzalo Higuain saw the Partenopei comfortably past the Mastini, despite a spirited display from the hosts.
It was a frustrating first-half for Maurizio Sarri’s side, as the host set out to stifle the attacking threat of the Partenopei by sitting deep and allowing them the majority of possession.
However, Napoli created just one notable effort of the first period, when Marek Hamsik nodded a floated pass down to Higuain on the edge of the box, only for the Argentine to drag his shot wide.
Although Higuain did force a save from Rafael on 50 minutes, the second-half followed a similar pattern to the first, the hosts Bosko Jankovic testing Pepe Reina for the first time an hour into the match.
On 68 minutes, though, the Partenopei made the breakthrough in style. Insigne allowing with an excellent touch to control a Hamsik pass and drive low past the helpless Mastini goalkeeper.
Five minutes later and Napoli doubled their lead, when a swift passing move allowed Insigne to burst into the box on the left and lay the ball into the path of Higuain to tap home from close range.
As they look to cement top spot, Napoli will face a much stiffer test when Inter travel to the San Paolo on November 30, whereas, the Gialloblu will hope they can secure a valuable three points when they head to fellow relegation candidates Frosinone next Sunday.
