Napoli secured a well-earned 2-1 victory over Fiorentina at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday, closing the gap on Serie A leaders Inter Milan.
With this result, Napoli climbed to 60 points, trailing Inter by just one after the Nerazzurri staged a thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Monza a day earlier. Fiorentina, meanwhile, remained in seventh place with 45 points.
Before kickoff, Napoli supporters set the tone with a striking display behind both goals, spelling out “Anema e Core”—a passionate plea for their team to play with “Heart and Soul.”
The players responded with an intense first-half performance, dominating possession and putting the visitors under relentless pressure.
From the outset, Napoli pushed forward, repeatedly delivering crosses into the box and seeking out Romelu Lukaku.
Fiorentina goalkeeper David de Gea was called into action early, denying Giacomo Raspadori from close range.
However, in the 26th minute, Napoli’s persistence paid off. A long-range effort from Scott McTominay, Lukaku’s former Manchester United teammate, was parried by De Gea, but the keeper failed to hold on, allowing Lukaku to pounce and slot home from just outside the six-yard box.
De Gea redeemed himself moments later, using his leg to keep out another Raspadori strike. Fiorentina struggled to break out, but when they did, Moise Kean came close, heading over the bar from a rare corner.
Napoli remained in control, and Giovanni Di Lorenzo nearly doubled the lead, rattling the crossbar with a powerful effort. Leonardo Spinazzola also tested De Gea, who made a crucial save with his foot.
The tempo eased slightly after the break, but Napoli continued to press. Raspadori forced another stop from De Gea before finally getting his goal on the hour mark.
Lukaku held his run before threading a well-timed through ball to Raspadori, who expertly controlled on the turn and fired a low shot into the far corner.
Fiorentina found a response just six minutes later when Kean delivered a clever backheel pass to Albert Gudmundsson, who drilled his effort into the bottom corner, cutting Napoli’s lead in half.
Napoli had a chance to put the game to bed in stoppage time, but Giovanni Simeone misfired when through on goal against De Gea. Nevertheless, Antonio Conte’s side saw out the match, bringing an end to their five-game winless streak in Serie A.
