◤Serie A◢ Romelu Lukaku scores and assists to help Napoli narrowly defeat Fiorentina by 2-1..

Napoli narrowly defeated Fiorentina by 2-1 on matchday 28 of the 2024/25 Serie A season at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.

In the first half, Lukaku scored a goal with a rebound, and Di Lorenzo hit the crossbar with a long shot. In the second half, Raspadori pushed the ball into the net from close range, and Gudmundsson scored with a long shot. In the end, Napoli narrowly defeated Fiorentina by 2-1. After this round of games, I Partenopei, who ended their 5-game winless streak, is temporarily ranked second on the table with 60 points; I Viola is temporarily eighth on the table with 45 points.

First Half

In the 8th minute, Giovanni Di Lorenzo passes horizontally from the right side of the box from the right wing. Upon receiving the pass, Giacomo Raspadori quickly followed up and pushed the ball with his right foot from the center of the box, but his shot was saved by David De Gea.

In the 26th minute, Alessandro Buongiorno made a straight pass from his own back half. Scott McTominay quickly followed up and got the ball, then dribbled, cuts inside and took a few steps before taking a long shot with his right foot from the edge of the penalty area. His shot was initially saved by De Gea not far away. After quickly following up and picking up the loose ball, Romelu Lukaku strucked the ball into the upper right corner of the net with his left foot from a very close distance in the box. Napoli broke the deadlock first to take a 1-0 lead! The former Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Roma center forward finally broke his 5-game goal drought!

4 minutes later, Di Lorenzo passed the ball from the right wing. Raspadori quickly followed up, got the ball and took a few steps before volleying with his right foot at a difficult angle from the edge of the byline on the right side of the box, but his shot was blocked by De Gea's outstretched legs.

In the 32nd minute, Nicolò Fagioli made an ovehead pass from the. Moise Kean rose high and attempted with a header from a very close distance in the box, however his effort went just slightly over the crossbar.

2 minutes later, Stanislav Lobotka passes horizontally from the left wing. Giovanni Di Lorenzo quickly followed up, stopped the ball, adjusted his angle, before a long shot with his right foot from outside the penalty area. Unfortunately, his shot hit the crossbar and bounced off.

In the 38th minute, Lukaku passes horizontally from the left side of the box. Leonardo Spinazzola quickly followed up, got the ball and took a few steps before pushing the ball with his left foot at a difficult angle from a very close distance in the the box, but his shot was blocked by De Gea's outstretched legs.

At the end of the first half, Napoli temporarily led Fiorentina by 1-0 into the half time break.

Second Half

Both teams switched sides as the match continued.  In the 60th minute, Lukaku made a  through low diagonal pass from the front. After beating the offside trap, Giacomo Raspadori quickly followed up and upon receiving the pass, pushes the ball into the bottom right corner of the net with his left foot from a very close distance in the box. Napoli expanded its lead to 2-0!

6 minutes later, Kean passed the ball back from the front. Albert Gudmundsson quickly followed up, got the ball and took a few steps before taking a long shot with his right foot from outside the penalty area. His shot ball flew straight into the bottom right corner of the net, turning it into a wondergoal in the process, leaving Alex Meret out of reach. Fiorentina pulled a goal back at 2-1!

In the second minute of injury time, Napoli made a quick counterattack. Giovanni Simeone intercepted the ball and then dribbled to the edge of the penalty area before volleying with his right foot against the outrushing De Gea, but his shot was saved by the latter.

When the final whistle is blown, Napoli narrowly defeated Fiorentina by 2-1.