Atalanta dealt a major blow to Napoli’s title hopes with a commanding 3-0 win on Sunday, powered by a brace from Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman.
Napoli had aimed to extend their lead at the top of Serie A but found themselves on the back foot early on as Lookman capitalised on a defensive lapse to open the scoring in the 10th minute. He then doubled the lead with a sublime curling strike, leaving Napoli’s coach Antonio Conte visibly frustrated with his defence.
Despite a few attempts from the hosts, including a near-miss by Scott McTominay, Napoli couldn’t break through. Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui sealed the victory with a third goal in stoppage time, bringing his season tally to 11 and helping Atalanta secure second place on 22 points.
Atalanta’s head coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, praised his team’s performance, saying, “When you come to play in Napoli against a team that has had a great start to the season, you know that you have to have a great match. We are very satisfied.”
“We are a team that is growing, making progress. We have made eleven changes to the squad compared to the one that played in the middle of the week, but we still need to improve things.”
The win marks the end of Napoli’s unbeaten run, which had stretched back to August, and intensifies competition at the top of the Serie A table.
