Victor Osimhen will miss Napoli’s Serie A derby against Salernitana with the striker due back with the squad next week to continue his recovery from injury.

The 24-year-old, a reported target of Manchester United and Chelsea, has been out since mid-October with a hamstring problem.

Osimhen was granted permission by the club to travel home to Nigeria but he will return over the next few days to build up his fitness.

“He has made an agreement with the club,” head coach Rudi Garcia told a press conference.

“I’ve heard from him by message, and the doctors assure me that he is following the program. Everything is fine and he will be with us next week.”

Napoli will travel to Salernitana without Osimhen or young striker Lorenzo Russo.

“It’s not that I don’t care, but whether it’s Osimhen or Russo, injured together, cannot play and therefore I focus on who can play,” added Garcia.

“It won’t be an easy match, it’s a derby first of all, they need points, but we only have one positive result to achieve, the victory there, and we have to field the best version of Napoli, we know what to do.”

Napoli currently lie fifth in the table and are already seven points behind leaders Inter Milan.

But they did hit back from two goals down at half-time to draw 2-2 with AC Milan on Sunday thanks to second-half goals from Matteo Politano and Giacomo Raspadori.

“We’re a quarter of the way through the championship, three quarters remain to get back to whoever is in front,” said Garcia.

“We conceded two goals from Milan’s first two actions, we didn’t do badly, we should have done better on the two goals, but we also had the chance to make it 1-1, but that’s over now and let’s focus on tomorrow.

“Obviously when a team comes back from 0-2 to almost 3-2 at the last minute the second half was better in terms of results. It’s always better to end on a positive note.”

Salernitana lie bottom of the table, without a win so far and with four points from their opening 10 matches.

AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli is happy with the cohesion amongst his players but says performances still need to improve as they prepare to host Udinese on Saturday.

Milan threw away a two goal lead last weekend at Napoli as Olivier Giroud put them 2-0 up before the hosts scored two second-half goals to share the spoils.

Despite sitting third in Serie A, Milan are now without a win in their last two and Pioli would like his team to improve their performances.

He said in quotes reported on AC Milan’s official website: “I’m extremely satisfied with the group that’s been formed, as I am with our identity.

“I can safely say that I never have any doubts about the togetherness and cohesion; the lads are open and their attitude has always been top notch.

“Even in the Scudetto-winning year, we weren’t as together as this group are.

“But we do need to up our performances from a technical and concentration point of view.”

Milan will look to put things right when they play Udinese at San Siro, who have yet to pick up a win this season despite drawing seven of their opening 10 games.

Pioli expects Udinese to sit deep defensively and admits it could be tough to break them down.

He added: “I believe Udinese will play a waiting game and line up with a tight, low block.

“The main difficulties will be finding the right spaces to surprise them, but at the same time not be left open ourselves on the counter.

“We’ll need to remain composed, patient and compact. We’ll put our best possible side out there tomorrow; we want to win and then start to think about the Champions League.”

Striker Giroud has made a bright start to the season so far having scored six times and assisted three goals throughout the opening nine games, and is the league’s second top scorer behind Lautaro Martinez.

Pioli has hailed his front man and thinks he is among the best strikers he has managed throughout his career.

He said: “Giroud is a great person and player; I’ve always been lucky to coach many top centre-forwards, and he is certainly one of them.

“We all need to improve because that one per cent extra from everyone can make the difference.”

AC Milan defender Pierre Kalulu has had surgery and is expected to be out of action for around four months.

The 23-year-old centre-half ruptured a thigh muscle in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Serie A rivals Napoli and had an operation to repair the damage on Thursday.

Milan said on their official website: “AC Milan can confirm that Pierre Kalulu underwent surgery today to repair a complete rupture of his left rectus femoris tendon.

“The operation, which was carried out in Finland by Professor Lasse Lempainen in the presence of AC Milan’s head of medical team, Stefano Mazzoni, was a complete success.

“His expected recovery time is estimated to be around four months.”

Kalulu is in his fourth season with Milan after joining from Lyon in 2020.

He made his first start in Serie A this season at Napoli on Sunday after three substitute appearances, but sustained the injury in the 19th minute.

Napoli came alive in the second half of their 2-2 draw with AC Milan after Olivier Giroud twice headed home for the visitors before the break at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Milan looked to be in complete control after the Frenchman bagged his brace in the opening period, but the momentum swung completely in the opposite direction after the restart when Matteo Politano halved the deficit in the 50th minute.

Giacomo Raspadori’s stunning free-kick from 25 yards ensured it was all square after 63 minutes of a thoroughly entertaining contest in the Campania capital.

Napoli were forced to play the final few minutes with 10 men after Natan was sent off, but neither side could find a winner despite both teams having late chances.

The evening opened with an excellent piece of defending by Amir Rrahmani to block a close-range Giroud effort after the ball had deflected favourably in the Frenchman’s path.

There was bad news for the Rossoneri when centre-back Pierre Kalulu went down and was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue, with boss Stefano Pioli was short of options with Malick Thiaw serving a suspension and Simon Kjaer suffering a muscle problem.

On came 20-year-old Marco Pellegrino, making his Serie A debut and himself forced off late on, but it was a man 17 years the debutant’s senior who would provide the spark Pioli’s side needed.

Giroud’s opener came thanks to a superb delivery from Christian Pulisic to set up the 37-year-old for a glancing header that caught the fingertips of Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret before going in.

AC Milan soon extended their advantage, this time Davide Calabria providing the cross for Giroud to nod into the bottom left corner after winning an aerial battle with Rrahmani.

The visitors were cruising and had multiple chances to make it 3-0 before the break, while Napoli had not managed a shot on target.

Napoli boss Rudi Garcia made a triple change at half-time and the switch quickly seemed to pay dividends for the hosts when Politano thundered a left-footed strike under the crossbar from the edge of the area.

Milan, who had dominated the first half, were suddenly on the back foot, somehow surviving a relentless spell from Napoli that would have left them ruing their earlier missed chances when Raspadori curled home the equaliser from 25 yards.

Natan was sent off after his clumsy challenge on Giovanni Simeone resulted in a second booking, but the visitors could not capitalise on the man advantage through four minutes of added time, coming closest through captain Calabria’s header into the side-netting.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia nearly snatched victory for the home side, but Milan keeper Mike Maignan reacted quickly to keep out the Georgian’s sharp effort and ensure the points were shared.

Marcus Thuram struck a late winner as Inter Milan returned to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 victory over Roma at San Siro.

The hosts completely dominated the first half but failed to score when chances from Thuram, Hakan Calhanoglu and Benjamin Pavard went begging.

The only team with the intention of winning the game were Inter and it started to look like it was not their day until Thuram turned home with 10 minutes remaining to condemn Jose Mourinho to defeat against his former employers.

Inter’s intent to attack Roma was clear from the outset and they almost had the opener six minutes in when Calhanoglu’s rifled effort from 20 yards bounced off the crossbar.

Denzel Dumfries’ cross found Thuram inside the area and after seeing his initial header blocked, his second stabbed effort was saved magnificently by the legs of Rui Patricio.

It was wave after wave of Inter attacks as Roma continued to sit back and defend, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan next to go close when his effort from 12 yards flew wide of the target before volleying over from outside the area a couple of minutes later.

Half an hour into the contest, defender Pavard found himself with space inside the area but shot well wide of the target.

The second half started with the same pattern as the first with Inter on the front foot and Thuram headed over from Calhanoglu’s free-kick.

After an hour, Roma had failed to register a single shot but Inter had their second on target after Thuram chested a cross into Lautaro Martinez, with his resulting effort deflected softly into the hands of Patricio.

Roma, who had former Inter striker Romelu Lukaku up front, had a chance to hit the target in the 65th minute as Stephan El Shaarawy was brought down by Alessandro Bastoni on the edge of the box, but Leandro Paredes sent the resulting free-kick straight into the wall.

The away side finally started to create a few opportunities and came close to an opener of their own when Bryan Cristante powered a header towards goal but Yann Sommer was alert to keep the score 0-0.

The game became a little stretched for the first time and Inter went down the other end and could have scored but Calhanoglu’s shot was deflected wide.

Back came Inter as they looked to crank up the pressure, but Federico Dimarco’s cross into the six-yard box could not be turned home by Thuram.

The decisive moment of the game came 80 minutes in when Thuram pounced on Dimarco’s cross and turned in to finally give the hosts a deserved lead.

Carlos Augusto almost added a stunning second, unleashing a 30-yard effort which struck the crossbar.

Jude Bellingham scored twice as Real Madrid took El Clasico honours with a 2-1 win at Barcelona.

The England midfielder struck with a 30-yard drive to cancel out Ilkay Gundogan’s early goal for the hosts.

Bellingham then volleyed a stoppage-time winner to take his goal tally to 13 in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid from Borussia Dortmund.

Goals from Lucas Ocampos and Ivan Rakitic saw Sevilla come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 in Cadiz, Las Palmas won 2-1 at Almeria and Mallorca were held 0-0 at home by Getafe.

In the Bundesliga, Harry Kane scored a hat-trick – including a goal from inside his own half – as Bayern Munich thumped Darmstadt 8-0.

Joshua Kimmich was sent off after just four minutes, but red cards for Klaus Gjasula and Matej Maglica ensured the hosts had the man advantage at the break after a goalless first half.

Kane’s second goal was a magnificent effort from four yards behind the halfway line. Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane scored two apiece and Thomas Muller was also on target.

Bayern moved to the top of the table after Stuttgart slipped up 3-2 at home to Hoffenheim.

Borussia Monchengladbach beat Heidenheim 2-1, Augsburg were 3-2 winners at home to Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen sank Union Berlin 2-0 and Leipzig thumped Cologne 5-0.

Andrea Cambiaso struck with virtually the last kick of the game as Juventus climbed to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 win over Verona.

Moise Kean had earlier seen two goals disallowed by VAR as Verona chased an unlikely point in their battle against relegation.

But Verona have never won away at Juventus in Serie A history, and that record now stands at 33 matches, following a heartbreaking defeat.

In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Arkadiusz Milik’s header came back off the inside of the far post and Cambiaso smashed in the rebound.

Alessandro Buongiorno goal just before half-time gave Torino a 1-0 win at Lecce, while Sassuolo drew 1-1 at home to Bologna

In France, two penalties from Florian Sotoca helped Lens to a 4-0 win over Nantes and Reims beat Lorient 1-0.

Andrea Cambiaso struck with virtually the last kick of the game as Juventus climbed to the top of Serie A with a 1-0 win over Hellas Verona.

Moise Kean had earlier seen two goals disallowed by VAR as Verona chased an unlikely point in their battle against relegation.

Verona have never won away at Juventus in Serie A history and that record now stands at 33 matches, following a heartbreaking defeat.

Juve thought they had taken the lead in the 13th minute when Kean, after 10 league games without a goal, spun his marker 25 yards out and launched an unstoppable drive past Lorenzo Montipo.

But the VAR took the play back to when Kean originally collected the ball before turning back on himself and adjudged him fractionally offside.

Kean was denied again moments later when his header from Manuel Locatelli’s corner was tipped over by Montipo.

The Italy striker, still aggrieved at having his goal ruled out, beat another couple of challenges on the edge of the box but, having been forced wide, he lashed his shot off target.

Verona weathered the storm and fashioned a couple of half chances, but Michael Folorunsho and Milan Djuric fired wide while Wojciech Szczesny saved from Federico Bonazzoli just before the break.

Kean squandered another presentable chance early in the second half when he planted a free header wide.

His frustration grew to boiling point when he glanced a superb header home after a sweeping Juve attack, only for VAR to haul it back for a foul by the forward in the build-up.

The 23-year-old was promptly booked for hurling the ball away after another decision went against him.

An 11th match without a goal came to an end on the hour when Kean was replaced by Federico Chiesa.

The substitute was immediately in the thick of the action, forcing Montipo to acrobatically tip his shot over the top.

Chiesa had his head in his hands moments later when he received a cut-back from the byline, only to see his first-time shot from 10 yards cleared off the line by Davide Faraoni.

Federico Gatti tried his luck from 25 yards, but his fierce drive flew wide and teenage substitute Kenan Yildiz lifted a glorious chance too.

But Juve’s moment came at the end of six minutes of stoppage time when Arkadiusz Milik’s header came back off the inside of the far post and Cambiaso smashed in the rebound.

Rudi Garcia is determined to hit AC Milan when they are down and relaunch Napoli’s Serie A title defence.

A rocky start to the season saw the Partenopei fall well short of expectations and critics of new head coach Garcia’s approach did not take long to make their voices heard.

But three league wins from four have thrust Napoli right back into contention and a home win against second-placed Milan, whose bubble has been burst by consecutive defeats to Juventus and Paris St Germain, could lift them to third.

“We have this home match against one of our direct rivals and it’s one we really want to win,” Garcia told reporters.

“There’s a good atmosphere in the camp. We’ve had a decent run of results but we know that if we really want to move up the table we need to keep winning back-to-back games.

“We want victory at home especially because we have the help of our fans after two wins on the road.”

Milan were one of the few sides to get the better of Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli last season, memorably winning 4-0 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as the hosts were trying to rubber-stamp their Scudetto.

“It will be a different game to last season,” Garcia said. “People keep saying this Napoli team is different to the one from last season so this game against Milan will be different too.”

Rossoneri boss Stefano Pioli, meanwhile, is demanding an instant response to last weekend’s San Siro reverse against Juve and a 3-0 humiliation at PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday.

He said at a press conference: “The team is hungry to turn things around.

“For the first time this season, we’ve lost two in a row in two big games and tomorrow we have another one.

“We’ll need to show that we have the quality to be a consistent side. We have to keep at it for 95 minutes against teams like this.

“We must live in the present; we’ve made mistakes and got results that we didn’t want. We have the chance in Naples to put in a better performance and show that we’re better.

“Garcia is a great coach. He had issues at the start – which is normal – but now they’re playing well and creating a lot.

“We need to be aware of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia because he can hurt you one-on-one. We’ll try to be alert.”

Stephan El Shaarawy has urged his Roma team-mates to maintain their superb run of form when they face Serie A high-flyers Inter Milan on Sunday.

Roma failed to win any of their first three games of the season and were thrashed 4-1 by Genoa at the end of September.

However, Jose Mourinho’s side have since won five games in a row in all competitions, scoring 13 goals and conceding just one in the process and are top of Europa League Group G with a 100 per cent record.

Asked if something had clicked following the defeat to Genoa, El Shaarawy told the club’s website: “No, it was something that defined us the past two years.

“We manage to work together in challenging situations. We unite and evaluate our mistakes to avoid repeating them.

“Our group has always been our biggest strength. We have done a good job of preparing for the games and what we needed to do in recent weeks, but there is still work to be done.

“The season is long and there will be a crucial encounter on Sunday. We must continue in this way.”

Roma will have their work cut out on Sunday however, Inter having started the Serie A season with seven wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening nine games.

Simone Inzaghi’s side have scored 24 goals and conceded just five for a goal difference of plus 19, the joint best in Europe’s top leagues along with Bayern Munich.

Roma striker Romelu Lukaku is set for a hostile reception as he faces his former club for the first time, despite Inter fans claiming they have been banned from handing out whistles to create a noisy return for the striker.

“Yet another abuse. Whistles prohibited,” the Curva Nord Milano group said on their Instagram page on Friday.

Mourinho, who won several trophies in his two seasons in charge of Inter, has tried to play down Lukaku’s return.

“I’m shocked by the whole thing because I didn’t think Romelu meant that much to a club with Inter’s history. It’s a surprise for me,” Mourinho said earlier this week.

The Portuguese coach will have to watch from the stands on Sunday as he is suspended following his red card at the end of Roma’s win over Monza.

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri says his side have to make their impressive win at AC Milan last week count when they face Hellas Verona on Saturday.

A 1-0 win at the San Siro saw Juve cut the gap on Milan to just one point, with Serie A leaders Inter two points further ahead.

“Tomorrow’s match is a tricky one: it is a more difficult match to prepare for than last Sunday’s, Verona have great physical strength and are physically demanding over the 90 minutes,” he told the club’s official website.

“We must make Sunday’s victory count by getting a result, otherwise we risk throwing overboard what we have achieved.

“We will have a better chance of winning if we match our opponents, and it is something we must always do, because it is a question of respect, regardless of the team in front of us.

“We will have our supporters behind us and that will be important, we will need structure, compactness and patience, because what is important is the three points and not the rankings; if anything we have to push those chasing us further away.

“The objective, clearly, is to be in the top four and play in the Champions League next year, then we will evaluate where we are at the end of the season.

“The growth of the team is based on balance and daily work, even if it is true that having young players gives enthusiasm and light-heartedness, the group wants to work, everyone plays as a team and puts their personal objectives in the background.”

Juve have had a good week in training, with Allegri having decisions to make.

“We’re all fine, Federico Chiesa came back and had a good week, so did Dusan Vlahovic,” he said.

“Hans Nicolussi Caviglia is a player who can also play in midfield, but his role is in front of the defence, his time will also come.

“He knows how to play football very well, but he has to grow in other aspects; Weston McKennie is doing well and can be important tomorrow too.

“On the left I have a doubt between Andrea Cambiaso and Filip Kostic, and I also have Samuel Iling-Junior who is definitely improving.”

Inter Milan president Steven Zhang believes the club have established themselves among Europe’s elite again and is targeting a 20th Serie A title this season.

The Nerazzurri reached the final of the Champions League last season, losing 1-0 to Manchester City in Instanbul, finished third in the league and won the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup.

Simone Inzaghi’s side have started this season in fine form, sitting top of Serie A and unbeaten after three Champions League games.

“We are here to take stock of the 2022/23 season together,” Zhang said at Inter’s shareholders’ meeting.

“Obviously this takes us back to those thrilling nights that led us all the way to the Champions League final in Istanbul – Inter back at the top, starring on the most prestigious stage in the world.

“We came close to a feat that everyone deemed impossible, competing with the best in the world showing that our team can match any opponent.”

Zhang admits Italian clubs are facing challenges from abroad, including a new threat from the Saudi Pro League, but is confident that they are on the right path to achieve more success.

The 31-year-old also has his sights on adding a second star to the shirt by winning their 20th Scudetto – Italian clubs get one star for every 10 league titles they have won.

“This season we have also realised that our ambition does not stop here. The path we must take together lies before us,” Zhang added.

“Spring 2023 saw three Italian teams competing in European finals, giving rise to the ‘Calcio is Back!’ slogan. Italian football clubs have immense potential, and every effort is required to realise this.

“We are facing strong competition from old and new rivals alike. We have to deal with the sudden growth of the Saudi Pro League and at the same time manage financial competition with big European leagues, such as the English Premier League.

“I am proud to have steered Inter in a positive direction together with all our staff and players. Inter is now once again one of the top clubs in Europe representing of millions of people around the world.

“Winning is always our priority. We will fight to earn that second star for our fans and to enter into the history books of this club forever.”

Former AC Milan midfielder Manuel Locatelli returned to haunt his old side as he claimed the goal which gave Juventus a 1-0 victory in San Siro.

Locatelli, who joined Milan at the age of 11 only to leave for Turin a decade later in 2021, enjoyed a huge slice of luck to net the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute courtesy of a massive deflection off Milan substitute Rade Krunic.

The unfortunate Krunic had only been on the pitch three minutes but there was little he could do when Locatelli’s speculative 30-yard shot, which was heading wide, cannoned off him and left third-choice goalkeeper Antonio Mirante stranded.

Juve had struggled to make the most of the numerical advantage handed to them five minutes before half-time when Milan defender Malick Thiaw was shown a red card for hauling down Moise Kean as he made a run on goal.

In fact Locatelli’s shot was their best attempt in the 50 minutes they faced the 10 men but even victory over Milan for the first time in six matches, inflicting their hosts’ first home defeat of the season, did not appear to impress head coach Massimiliano Allegri who became increasingly agitated on the touchline.

Victory moved Juve, who registered a fourth successive clean sheet for the first time since January – meaning they have now have the most shut-outs (16) in Serie A in 2023, to within a point of Milan and just two behind leaders Inter.

There had been little between the two sides prior to Thiaw’s sending off after he was adjudged to have denied Kean a goalscoring opportunity as the Juve forward raced onto Timothy Weah’s through-ball in the inside-right channel.

Olivier Giroud had Milan’s best chance in the 14th minute when his low shot on the turn from Rafael Leao’s cross was tipped around the post by former Arsenal team-mate Wojciech Szczesny.

Adrien Rabiot flashed a cross-shot wide of the left-hand post of the 40-year-old Mirante, making his first appearance in two years, before the red card saw Christian Pulisic sacrificed in order to be able to bring on Pierre Kalulu.

Kean should have put the visitors ahead on the stroke of half-time but after getting between Fikayo Tomori and Alessandro Florenzi he failed to connect properly with Rabiot’s low, inswinging cross from six yards out.

Juve failed to make their advantage account until the 63rd minute when Locatelli let fly and benefited from the unfortunate Krunic’s inadvertent intervention.

Mirante, himself a former Juve player, then found himself with more to do as he tipped over Dusan Vlahovic’s powerful strike before producing a good double save from Andrea Cambiaso and Vlahovic in added time.

Inter Milan earned their eighth league win of the season with three second-half goals to beat Torino 3-0.

Although Inter had a couple of chances in the first half, goalkeeper Yann Sommer kept them in the game when the hosts came on the attack, making a great save from Demba Seck’s effort.

Despite their positive chances, Torino fell behind after the break when Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez scored within eight minutes of each other and Hakan Calhanoglu netted from the penalty spot in the final minutes to wrap the game up.

Three points sends Inter to the top of the Serie A table, one point above rivals AC Milan who take on Juventus on Sunday.

After a solid start Inter had a chance in the 18th minute when Thuram cut into the box but Vanja Milinkovic-Savic was able to make the save.

Calhanoglu then had another chance for the visitors but his free-kick just flew wide of a post.

Torino then grew into the game and had chances of their own when Samuele Ricci tested Sommer, but arguably their best chance of the half came in the 34th minute when Seck hit a great curling shot, forcing the Inter goalkeeper to make a great save and palm away the danger.

The hosts threatened again just before half-time when a looping cross picked out Pietro Pellegri at the back post and Sommer reacted quickly with a low dive.

Ricci had another chance straight after the break after smashing the ball from outside of the box but his effort flew just over the bar.

Torino were then forced into an early substitution minutes later when Perr Schuurs was taken off the pitch on a stretcher.

A well-worked move from Inter saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan burst down the left and whip the ball into the box, but Thuram was unable to get a foot on it.

The visitors eventually found the breakthrough in the 59th minute when Denzel Dumfries’s low cross found an unmarked Thuram on the edge of the area and the forward made no mistake to hit the ball first time into the bottom corner.

They doubled their lead in the 67th minute from a corner when Francesco Acerbi flicked the ball behind him, allowing Martinez to nod home.

Thuram nearly earned a second but was denied following a great block from Saba Sazonov who managed to stick a leg out to deflect the ball away.

Torino pushed forward in the final 10 minutes and a dangerous free-kick in stoppage time saw Sommer unable to reach the ball, which smashed off Sazonov’s shoulder to go wide.

Inter capped off the evening after being awarded a penalty and Calhanoglu fired the ball into the bottom corner with just over a minute left in the game.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored twice as Napoli relaunched their Serie A title defence with a 3-1 victory at struggling Hellas Verona.

Recent underwhelming form saw Rudi Garcia’s men suffer a home defeat by Fiorentina last time out but they were always likely to get more from a trip to a Verona side who were winless in six matches heading into Saturday afternoon’s clash.

Matteo Politano made the first-half breakthrough before Kvaratskhelia scored either side of the break to render Darko Lazovic’s response largely redundant as Napoli consolidated themselves in fifth, not far behind the leading pack.

Napoli were first to threaten as Giacomo Raspadori forced Lorenzo Montipo to punch clear from a venomous free-kick in the seventh minute.

Raspadori soon tried again, this time connecting with a Mario Rui touch to test Montipo from distance. The Verona goalkeeper parried for a corner but he was not so successful in the 27th minute when Napoli opened the scoring.

Mario Rui, Piotr Zielinski and Raspadori tied Verona up in knots with a series of short passes before the latter crossed to an unmarked Politano for a volleyed left-footed finish at the far post.

There was almost a quickfire second when Jens Cajuste, put through by the slick Raspadori, spanked it wide from a one-on-one with Montipo.

Kvaratskhelia gave Napoli a two-goal lead before half-time, however. A rapid counter-attack down the right side gave Politano plenty of time to pick out the Georgian on the other flank for a low drive inside the near post.

Verona tried to slash the deficit as soon as play resumed, with Federico Bonazzoli latching onto Milan Djuric’s pass and fizzing it towards Alex Meret in the Napoli goal.

Instead Kvaratskhelia fired the Partenopei well clear when, in the 55th minute, he collected another Politano assist and coolly beat Montipo.

Lazovic promptly bit back for wounded Verona, though, when the visitors failed to deal with Davide Faraoni’s cross on the hour mark and the Serbian scorched one in.

With a potential comeback on the cards the game opened up and Djuric and Politano enjoyed opportunities at either end before Meret pulled off a desperate stop to deny Bonazzoli before needing to keep Lazovic at bay not long after.

Substitute Alessio Zerbin looked to rubber-stamp the Napoli win as time ticked away but Montipo prevented further damage by blocking the daisy cutter with his legs, limiting the winning margin to two goals.

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri will allow Nicolo Fagioli to spend the seven months of his suspension for betting breaches seeking treatment for his addiction while keeping himself fit for potential involvement in the run-in.

Bianconeri midfielder Fagioli, 22, had five months of a one-year ban suspended this week and was fined 12,500 euros (£10,848), while he agreed to a therapy plan of at least six months to tackle his gambling problem.

The ban means Fagioli – who has the Turin club’s official support – will miss almost the entirety of the Serie A campaign that remains but he will be eligible for the final two games, against Bologna and Monza, in May.

Allegri hopes Juve will then be in a position to challenge for the Scudetto, if they have not already claimed their first championship since 2020, and Fagioli will be enthusiastically welcomed back into the fold to get the Old Lady over the line.

Before Sunday evening’s trip to title rivals AC Milan, the boss told a press conference: “We have said everything regarding Fagioli, the club have expressed their opinion and I agree.

“Now a journey begins for Nicolo that will bring him back to the field in May – these seven months will help him maintain his athletic condition while he engages in social work.”

Going into the weekend Juve were four points behind leaders Milan, with Inter wedged in between the pair, and Allegri plans to extend their three-match unbeaten run with a positive result that would certainly turn up the heat in the title race.

“We’re expecting a good and challenging match tomorrow, with first against third in the standings,” he said. “We know the difficulties this match brings, playing at San Siro is both beautiful and difficult.”

On their hopes of reclaiming their status as top dogs in Italy, he added: “Are we favourites? Our goal is to earn as many points as possible to reach the end of May in the top four.

“In the meantime, let’s enjoy tomorrow’s match against Milan and then we’ll see what we’ve been able to do.”

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is suspended alongside Fagioli, with the defensive trio of Mattia De Sciglio, Alex Sandro and Danilo out injured.

Milan, who have won four straight league games, are without the banned duo of goalkeeper Mike Maignan and defender Theo Hernandez, while English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is among the high-profile names still on the treatment table.

With Maignan unavailable, Rossoneri boss Stefano Pioli is planning to throw veteran stopper Antonio Mirante, 40, into action for the first time this campaign and has no concerns whatsoever about his ability to cope with the Juve attack.

He told reporters: “Will we change the way we play with Mirante in goal? No.

“Antonio knows how to read plays and watch the gaps, so it will be down to the outfield guys to better understand how Juve move and therefore how to deal with them.”