Soccer Football - Serie A - Napoli v Hellas Verona - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - January 12, 2025 Napoli coach Antonio Conte reacts as Hellas Verona's Tomas Suslov prepares to take a throw in REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
NAPLES, Italy (Reuters) -Napoli increased their lead at the top of Serie A with a comfortable 2-0 win over Hellas Verona on Sunday, thanks to an early own goal from goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo and a stunning second-half strike from Frank Anguissa.
Napoli top Serie A on 47 points, four ahead of Inter Milan, who have two games in hand. Atalanta are a further point back. Verona are 17th on 19 points, just above the relegation zone.
Antonio Conte's side took an early advantage within five minutes when Giovanni Di Lorenzo's effort hit the post and bounced off Montipo's back and into the net.
The hosts dominated but wasted several chances to double their lead before the break, with Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay going close. However, it was Anguissa who sealed the victory after the break with an unstoppable shot in the 61st minute.
Anguissa dedicated his goal to 13-year-old fan Daniele, who was a huge supporter of the team but died of cancer last week after the 3-0 win over Fiorentina, with manager Conte not speaking to the press in light of the news.
"He has always been a brave boy and we know that we must always try to win for him. I am happy that we played for him today and that we won," Anguissa told DAZN as the team wore black armbands in his memory.
The midfielder added his side are taking their Scudetto quest "one game at a time".
"It is too early to talk about the title. When you are a great team, and we have shown that we are, you have to aim to win every game," he said.
Napoli have five successive league wins and travel to third-placed Atalanta on Saturday.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico CityEditing by Christian Radnedge)
