A clinical brace from Scott McTominay propelled SSC Napoli to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Torino at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday. The win extends Gli Azzurri’s impressive unbeaten home run against Il Toro to 13 matches and, crucially, establishes a potentially significant three-point lead at the top of the Serie A table following Inter Milan’s earlier defeat.
The atmosphere in Naples was electric, buoyed by the news of Inter’s slip-up. It took just seven minutes for the home crowd to erupt as Napoli drew first blood. Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s dynamic run into the box met Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s precise pass, and the midfielder laid it off first-time for McTominay, who finished with composure. Torino’s Che Adams squandered a quickfire opportunity to equalize, while Eljif Elmas saw his shot blocked moments later.
Despite the final scoreline, the match saw both sides enjoy periods of possession. Romelu Lukaku almost capitalized on a defensive error by Guillermo Maripan, but the ball frustratingly rolled out of play. Napoli, however, remained patient and their persistence paid off in the 42nd minute when McTominay struck again. Matteo Politano’s delicate dinked cross found the onrushing midfielder, who once again applied a clinical first-time finish, this time ahead of Cesare Casadei.
Torino showed more intent after the break, enjoying a larger share of the ball. However, they struggled to penetrate Napoli’s defense and failed to register a single shot on target throughout the entire match. Alessandro Buongiorno did well to block a powerful strike from Karol Linetty, but Alex Meret in the Napoli goal remained largely untroubled.
The victory came at a cost for Napoli, as they suffered a double injury blow in the second half. Anguissa and Buongiorno were both forced off within six minutes of each other, raising concerns for Antonio Conte’s side. Adding to the injury woes, Stanislav Lobotka also hobbled off in the closing stages.
Despite these setbacks, Napoli maintained their composure and saw out the game comfortably, highlighting Torino’s struggles to even get a meaningful touch in attacking areas at times. This marks Napoli’s third consecutive league win, putting them in a strong position at the Serie A summit with just four matches remaining.
For Torino, this defeat marks their second loss in their last three outings, a stark contrast to their previous form which saw them lose just once in 14 games. They remain in 10th place but will be disappointed with their toothless attacking display.
