Napoli’s Victor Osimhen celebrates after the match against Torino at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples October 17, 2021. — Reuters pic
ROME, Oct 18 — Napoli returned to the top of Serie A on Sunday after Nigerian international Victor Osimhen scored the only goal in a hard-fought 1-0 win against Torino.
AC Milan had moved to the top of the table after battling back from two goals down to beat Hellas Verona 3-2 at the San Siro on Saturday.
But Napoli moved back to the summit after Osimhen, who had scored for his country in a 2-0 win against the Central African Republic in World Cup qualifying last week, headed the 81st-minute winner.
Lorenzo Insigne’s weak first-half penalty was saved and Mexico international Hirving Lozano hit the post before Osimhen made the most of an attempted clearance that ricocheted off team-mate Eljif Elmas.
Napoli have 24 points, two more than AC Milan, after equalling the best start in club history, having also won the first eight games in 2017-18.
Reigning champions Inter Milan are on 17 points after losing ground following a 3-1 defeat away to Lazio on Saturday.
Juventus continued their climb following a disastrous start as Moise Kean’s first-half goal clinched a 1-0 win over Jose Mourinho’s Roma.
Wojciech Szczesny saved a penalty from Roma midfielder Jordan Veretout just before half-time as Juventus made it four wins on the bounce, moving up to seventh.
Roma remain fourth but have lost three of their past five outings.
Atalanta were easy 4-1 winners against Empoli on Sunday as they warmed up to take on Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Veteran Slovenian forward Josip Ilicic, recalled to the team after suffering from a combination of a knee injury and severe depression, scored the opener and his first goal of the season when he was well served by Joakim Maehle on 10 minutes.
Ilicic, 33, got his second with a rasping shot on 26 minutes but Federico Di Francesco pulled a goal back for the home side.
Four minutes into the second half, Atalanta took a 3-1 lead when 19-year-old Empoli defender Mattia Viti scored an own goal before the visitors wrapped up the win when Colombian forward Duvan Zapata got his 100th Serie A goal.
The team from Bergamo now head to northwest England to face United, who were beaten 4-2 at Leicester on Saturday, in Champions League Group F. — AFP