MILAN, Nov 29: Dries Mertens scored twice as Napoli beat Lazio 4-0 on Sunday to take the outright lead of Serie A on the night it paid tribute to soccer great Diego Maradona.
As well as Mertens – who has taken over several of Maradona’s records at Napoli – Piotr Zieliński and Fabián Ruiz also netted to help Napoli move three points clear of second-place AC Milan, which earlier lost 3-1 at home to Sassuolo.
It was a special night for Napoli fans as the match came three days after the one-year anniversary of Maradona’s death. Maradona led Napoli to its only Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990 and is considered a god-like figure in the southern city.
Napoli got off to a quick start as goals from Zieliński and Mertens put it 2-0 up in less than 10 minutes.
The second of Mertens’ goals, in the 29th minute, was a brilliant effort from the edge of the area that curled into the top left corner. It was a club record-extending 139th goal for Napoli from the Belgium forward.
Another delightful goal from Ruiz that arrowed into the top corner from outside the area capped a memorable night for Napoli.
Lazio, led by former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri, slipped seven points below fourth place.
AC Milan vs Sassuolo
After going unbeaten for nearly a third of the season, AC Milan had its second straight Serie A loss.
Alessio Romagnoli headed Milan in front but its lead lasted just three minutes before Gianluca Scamacca leveled. Simon Kjær’s own-goal saw Sassuolo lead at halftime.
Domenico Berardi then extended Sassuolo’s advantage and Milan’s misery was complete when Romagnoli was show a straight red card 13 minutes from time. Milan is now only a point above third-place Inter Milan after the defending champion won 2-0 at Venezia on Saturday.
Milan took the lead in the 21st when a corner was taken short and the ball floated over to Romagnoli, who headed in at the near post.
But Sassuolo leveled almost immediately with a powerful strike from Scamacca into the top right corner. And the turnaround was complete in the 33rd. Theo Hernández headed an attempt off the line and it came out to Scamacca, whose shot was saved by Maignan but the ball ricocheted off Kjær and into the goal.
Sassuolo extended its lead when Berardi feinted his way past Romagnoli and placed an angled drive through Maignan’s legs in the 66th.
Other Matches
Tammy Abraham’s first-half goal was enough to give Roma a 1-0 victory over Torino despite a poor performance from Jose Mourinho’s side. Roma remained fifth, three points behind Atalanta.
Bologna won 1-0 at Spezia, and Genoa drew 0-0 at Udinese. (AP)
