NAPLES, Italy (Reuters) – A second-half goal from Giovanni Di Lorenzo was enough to earn Napoli a 1-0 win over struggling Lecce on Saturday, and the home side extended their unbeaten run to eight games to stretch their lead at the top of the Serie A standings.
Di Lorenzo, who had a goal disallowed in the first half, bundled the ball into the net in the 73rd minute after his initial effort had been saved, and it proved enough to take all three points at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Lecce, despite their lowly position and dismal run of results, were far from outplayed by the league leaders, but fell to their fourth successive defeat and they remain second from bottom in the standings with five points.
Napoli move on to 22 points, five ahead of defending champions Inter Milan, who take on third-placed Juventus in Sunday’s Derby d’Italia.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; editing by Clare Fallon)