Napoli out to avoid 2016 repeat with Serie A halfway lead over Juventus | Paolo Bandini


The Partenopei lead Juve by a point in Italy, where 10 of the last 11 Serie A winners were ‘winter champions’, but memories of that exception remain

It was fitting that Marek Hamsik should grab the winner on Friday night: a record-breaking player adding a final exclamation mark to his team’s record-breaking year. He had overtaken Diego Maradona as Napoli’s all-time leading scorer in Serie A with a strike against Sampdoria just before Christmas. Now he had sunk Crotone with a cool left-foot finish at the Stadio Ezio Scida.

This was one of those nights when Napoli should have had a hatful, raining in 23 shots on Alex Cordaz’s goal. As it was, one would suffice to secure their 18th away win of 2017.

Related: Lorenzo Pellegrini puts Roma ahead but VAR ensures they draw with Sassuolo

Roma 1-1 Sassuolo, Atalanta 1-2 Cagliari, Benevento 1-0 Chievo, Bologna 1-2 Udinese, Fiorentina 1-1 Milan, Verona 1-3 Juventus, Inter 0-0 Lazio, Sampdoria 2-0 Spal, Torino 0-0 Genoa, Crotone 0-1 Napoli

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