Napoli keeps up pressure on Serie A leader Inter with 2-1 win over Fiorentina
MILAN (AP) — Napoli kept up the pressure on Serie A leader Inter Milan as it finally got back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina on Sunday.
Romelu Lukaku scored one and set up the other for Giacomo Raspadori to help Napoli move back to within a point of Inter, which fought back from two goals down to beat Monza 3-2 on Saturday.
Atalanta and Juventus will be hoping to keep their title chances alive when they meet later in Turin. Atalanta is six points below Inter, with Juventus three points further back.
Fiorentina’s hopes of making it into the top four diminished after its fourth loss in five league matches.
Napoli also came into the match on a mediocre run, having drawn four of its past five matches and losing the other.
But the hosts took the lead in the 26th minute following great work from Scott McTominay as he cut inside from the left and unleashed a shot that former Manchester United teammate David de Gea could only parry into the path of Lukaku, who tapped in the rebound.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo hit the crossbar for Napoli as Fiorentina had De Gea to thank for a number of impressive saves that kept it in the match.
Napoli eventually doubled its lead on the hour mark with a team move that ended with Lukaku playing a through ball for Raspadori to sweep into the bottom right corner.
Fiorentina pulled one back six minutes later as a backheeled flick from Moise Kean released Albert Guðmundsson to drill low into the near corner.
Fast goal
Matías Soulé scored after only 22 seconds to set Roma on its way to a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Empoli.
Statistics provider Opta said it was Roma’s fastest goal in a Serie A match (since that data started being collected in 2004).
It was a fifth straight win in all competitions for Roma, which visits Athletic Bilbao in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday.
Roma also extended its unbeaten run in Serie A to 12 matches, leapfrogging Fiorentina into seventh.
In-form Bologna
Bologna continued its fine form with a 2-1 win at 10-man Hellas Verona.
That was a third straight win for sixth-place Bologna, which has only lost one league match in 2025 — a run of 11 games.
Jens Odgaard broke the deadlock shortly before halftime and Nicolò Cambiaghi doubled Bologna’s lead in the 78th thanks to a howler from Verona goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò, with the ball squirming under his body.
That came shortly after Verona defender Nicolás Valentini was sent off following a second yellow card. However, despite the numerical disadvantage Daniel Mosquera reduced the deficit with 10 minutes remaining.
Verona is four points above the relegation zone.
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