Rome (AFP) – Napoli breathed fresh life into their Serie A title hopes on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina that ended a five-match winless run
Romelu Lukaku gave Napoli the lead on 26 minutes and Giacomo Raspadori doubled it on the hour before Albert Gudmundsson pulled a goal back for Fiorentina.
Antonio Conte’s Napoli climbed back to within a point of leaders Inter Milan, who came from two goals down to beat bottom side Monza 3-2 on Saturday.
“We deserved the victory,” said Conte.
“We could have been a bit more efficient with our chances and managed the final part of the game with less anxiety because let’s not forget that we dropped many points around the 90th minute in the last five games.”
Napoli, who won the title two years ago, were top at the end of January but have been playing catch-up with Inter after picking up just four points in five matches before beating Fiorentina at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Juventus host Atalanta later on Sunday with both teams looking to stay in touch with the top two. Atalanta are six points off the pace in third, while fourth-placed Juventus are nine points adrift of Inter.
Roma continued their resurgence under Claudio Ranieri as Matias Soule’s goal after only 22 seconds was enough to secure a 1-0 win at Empoli for their fifth successive league victory.
The 73-year-old Ranieri has brought stability to a club that sacked Daniele De Rossi in September and then moved on from his successor Ivan Juric less than two months later.
Roma are unbeaten in 12 games in Serie A since mid-December, rising from just outside the relegation places and into contention for Europe next season.
They are four points back of Bologna in sixth, which offers a spot in the UEFA Conference League.
