Napoli’s recent slump has seen them exit the Coppa Italia and lose any real chance of retaining their Scudetto, so they were searching for a response here and got one almost immediately.
The Partenopei raced into a second-minute lead when Matteo Politano’s cross was only cleared as far as Rasmus Hojlund, who looped an exquisite header into the far corner for his ninth league goal of the season.
Antonio Conte’s men remained on top for much of the first half, but ultimately failed to add to their lead. Stanislav Lobotka fired over from the edge of the area, while goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo got down well to his left to keep out Eljif Elmas.
Hojlund looked set to double his tally for the night when he rounded Montipo, but Victor Nelsson recovered to block the Dane’s goalbound effort.
Antonio Vergara fired over for Napoli in a low-key start to the second period which saw Verona up the tempo significantly. And the Gialloblu soon got their reward in the form of an equaliser, but it wasn’t without controversy.
Alessandro Buongiorno was incensed that a corner was awarded against Napoli, and the visitors’ mood got no better when Hojlund could only clear as far as Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, and he then inadvertently deflected the Verona midfielder’s strike past his own goalkeeper.
Napoli needed some time to regain their composure after being pegged back, but they were soon back on the front foot and only a smart save from Montipo prevented Elmas from restoring their lead.
Despite the introductions of the fit again Romelu Lukaku and former Verona man Giovane, Napoli struggled to sustain attacks in the closing stages.
Yet, deep into stoppage time, the pair combined as Lukaku pounced on Giovane’s cross and stabbed home his first club goal since May, helping Napoli to just a third win in eight outings.
Verona, meanwhile, have now won just one of their last 18 home league matches and remain rooted to the foot of the table, on course for a first relegation since 2018.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Victor Nelsson (Hellas Verona)
