Napoli reclaimed top spot in Serie A with a thoroughly deserved 5-1 victory over Empoli at the San Paolo on Sunday afternoon.
Leandro Paredes stunned those of a Napoli persuasion with a thunderous free-kick midway through the opening period, but Maurizio Sarri’s side responded with two quickfire goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Lorenzo Insigne.
Michele Camporese diverted the ball beyond his own goalkeeper shortly after the interval before Jose Callejon’s late brace sealed all three points.
Within eight minutes on the clock, Insigne weaved his magic on the left-hand side and delivered a measured cross into a lurking Higuain, but Camporese intervened to good effect.
Lukasz Skorupski was called into action minutes later when Insigne sprung the offside trap and picked out Higuain in the danger area, but the Pole foiled the forward from close-range.
The hosts would be left to rue their profligacy as they were sucker punched on 27 minutes, when Leandro Paredes’ venomous free-kick took a wicked deflection off Jose Callejon and wrong footed Pepe Reina.
Napoli, however, responded within minutes. Insigne collected possession on the left and dinked a delicate cross into Higuain who powered his header into the bottom corner.
The Partenopei completed the turnaround on 37 minutes. After Piotr Zielinski was adjudged to have handled Marek Hamsik’s strike on the edge of the area, Insigne spotted the free-kick and curled a sumptuous effort into the top corner and beyond the outstretched reach of Skoruspki.
Empoli’s hopes of restoring parity took a significant blow when Camporese diverted Callejon’s low cross into his own net six minutes after the restart.
The home side controlled possession thereafter, with Higuain going close on 62 minutes after a mazy run from his partner in crime Insigne.
After providing the cross for his side’s third of the afternoon, Callejon profited from a pair of tantalising deliveries from Dries Mertens to net his side’s fourth and fifth of the contest.
The victory restores Napoli’s two-point advantage over Juventus at the top of the table, while Empoli remain a point adrift of Sassuolo in seventh place.
