Dries Mertens netted his 17th and 18th league goals of the season, one in each half at the Stadio Olimpico, to reduce Roma’s advantage over Napoli to two points in the game of the weekend.
Napoli’s win means, with 11 league football games to play, a top three position has been further cemented for Maurizio Sarri’s boys, while betting websites cut the price on another Juve title as the Old Lady moved eight points clear at the top. Max Allegri’s team didn’t have it all its own way though as Udinese defied pre-match betting tips by holding the Champions to a draw.
Roma 1-2 Napoli
Man of the match Mertens put the visitors firmly in control when he converted a 26th-minute chance teed up by Marek Hamsik. And when he doubled the lead on 50, it looked like plain sailing for Napoli. But there was a scare for the visitors when Kevin Strootman halved the deficit as injury time began. And then Diego Perotti thought he’d stolen a point with a last-gasp deflected shot, only to see Napoli keeper Jose Reina make a breathtaking save to tip it onto the bar.
It was Napoli’s first win over second-placed Roma in two and a half years, a result which keeps them in great position for Champions League qualification and is a timely boost in advance of Tuesday’s second leg tie with Real Madrid.
And the result meant Juventus could have gone 10 points clear at the top with a win at Udinese, but the favourites were held 1-1 with Leonardo Bonucci heading home to rescue a point after Duvan Zapata had brilliantly fired the hosts ahead.
In the scrap for survival at the bottom, Pescara stay 20th after a 3-1 defeat at Sampdoria. Empoli remain seven points above the drop despite losing 0-2 at home to Genoa, as Palermo lost 3-1 at Torino – Andrea Belotti scoring a hat-trick for the hosts and taking his tally to 22. Crotone were the only strugglers to win a point, thanks to a goalless home draw with Sassuolo.
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