April 14, (THEWILL) – Napoli reduced the gap to Serie A leaders Inter to three points with a 3-0 victory over struggling Empoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The win extends their unbeaten home league run to seven matches while Empoli remain firmly in the relegation zone, sitting 19th and three points from safety.
Despite a promising start from the visitors, it was Napoli who broke the deadlock when Scott McTominay found the net with a precise 25-yard strike into the left corner. The hosts continued to apply pressure with Matteo Politano testing Empoli goalkeeper Devis Vasquez before the interval.
Napoli doubled their advantage nine minutes after the restart through Romelu Lukaku, who finished powerfully from close range after excellent build-up play involving Billy Gilmour and Mathías Olivera. The result was put beyond doubt just five minutes later when McTominay completed his brace – his first since December 2023 – with a header from Lukaku’s cross.
The statistics underlined Napoli’s dominance throughout the match, though prior to the weekend, no side in Europe’s top five leagues had drawn more games than the Neapolitans in the previous nine rounds. Antonio Conte’s men will be pleased to have converted their superiority into three points on this occasion.
The victory maintains pressure on league leaders Inter, with Napoli demonstrating their title credentials through effective finishing and defensive solidity. Meanwhile, Empoli missed a valuable opportunity to climb out of the relegation zone and will need to improve significantly to avoid dropping to Serie B next season.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
