At Stadio Via Del Mare, Napoli won against tough Lecce side. The game was end to end thoughout the time. Di Lorenzo scored for Napoli while Di Francesco scored for Lecce. The hosts also gave Napoli the lead with an own goal.
Lecce has lost five straight league games without scoring, with their leading scorer Gabriel Strefezza’s most recent goal coming against Cremonese in early February. The front three of Oudin, Ceesay, and Di Francesco were preferred for this match, leaving the Brazilian on the bench.
Napoli star Victor Osimhen was still recovering from a head injury when this game came along, so it was a little premature for him. Luciano Spalletti filled in for the Nigerian up front by using Giacomo Raspadori, who is frequently used as a wide forward.
Rrahmani gave up a free kick, which Oudin crossed from deep into the box. Umtiti rose to a high position in the middle of the box, got his head on the ball, and sent a looping effort just over the crossbar.
With a cut to his left foot, Oudin floated the ball in the direction of the back post. Di Franceasco’s deft touch brought it down for Maleh, who attempted to find the top corner with an incredible half-volley that Meret tip-toed over the bar.
Gonzalez was turned by Lozano with good strength, who then broke for Napoli, but the Lecce midfielder recovered to regain possession and win a free-kick for the home team.
An attempted clearance of a Napoli free-kick that was crossed into the box was prevented by Min-Jae. The South Korean exchanged passes with Lozano and then floated a quality pass to near post, where Di Lorenzo powered a powerful header into the top corner to give Napoli a 1-0 lead. The Partenopei captain scored the game’s first goal.
Napoli had a chance after Kvaratskhelia and Anguissa combined down the left, but Gendrey retreated into cover and cleared the latter’s ball. Lecce gained possession of the ball far up the field. Hjulmand attempted to play Ceesay in behind, but Min-Jae slid across for the opposition, allowing them to scoop the ball out of harm’s way.
Elmas passed the ball wide to Lozano, who cut inside and shot with his left foot through the crowd. Falcone saw the shot late and tipped it just inches past the post. Gallo crossed into the area after Lecce’s pressing resulted in them winning the ball in the distant corner. Ceesay rose to make contact with the ball, but he was unable to use enough force with his glancing header to direct the ball into the goal.
The offside flag saved Ceesay’s face after he was found running in behind on a long throughball. Ceesay moved into the left side of box and fired a wayward shot that missed the goal by miles. Di Lorenzo for Napoli quickly advanced after winning the ball. He opened up the field of play to the right, where Lozano received the ball, dribbled, and drifted inside before unleashing a shot into Umtiti’s extended leg.
With the help of Kvaratskhelia’s excellent footwork, Lozano was able to move past Baschirotto but was only able to fire a low shot into the defender who was covering him, and the ball rolled out for the corner.
Before setting up Anguissa, Kvaratskhelia danced his way into the box past numerous defenders. Anguissa fired from the edge of the box, but Falcone was waiting for the ball after it suffered a significant deflection and looped into his gloves.
Lecce managed to tie the score, and they fully deserved it. The free kick hung in the penalty area before being knocked back across the goal, where Ceesay’s fierce header shook the crossbar. When the ball came back out, Napoli was unable to properly clear it, which gave Di Francesco the opportunity to turn and put the ball past Meret and into the bottom corner. The Lecce winger’s incredible effort under pressure brought his team’s score to 1-1.
Hjulmand was able to spread the ball wide to Oduin thanks to some excellent link play between Ceesay and him. He fired a low cross-field pass in Di Francesco’s direction, but Di Lorenzo quickly raced back to cover, intercepted the pass, and denied his teammate another opportunity to score.
As soon as the Lecce corner was cleared, Lobotka made a solo move towards Napoli. Gendrey quickly cut off his quick break though, pushing the midfielder to the ground and receiving the first yellow card of the match for the foul.
Lecce failed miserably, handing Napoli the lead on a silver platter. Mario Rui received a backheel from Kvaratskhelia and blasted a teaser into the middle of the box. Gallo maintained his composure, and the ball bounced off him before squeezing through Falcone’s gloves and into the goal. The hosts’ defence put on a horror show, and Napoli once more wins 2-1.
Ceesay and Di Francesco raced after a threatening low pass across the goal, but Di Lorenzo slid in to clear the ball to keep Napoli from being exposed once more. Min-Jae powerfully headed a Lecce free-kick from the opposite side, and Ndombele charged down and stopped Maleh’s subsequent long-range shot.
Oudin strikes the free-kick straight into the Napoli wall, and the ball bounces back into the path of Umtiti. He drills a low half-volley goalwards, which Meret watches as the shot flashes wide.
Politano and Di Lorenzo quickly connected after making a quick break down the right. Early on, the latter crossed for Elmas, whose low half-volley shot Falcone parried away at his near post.
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