Napoli

NAPLES, Italy — Lorenzo Insigne's first-half penalty earned Napoli a 1-0 home win over Juventus in Serie A on Saturday, with a first defeat in eight in all competitions leaving the champions seven points behind league leaders AC Milan in the standings.

Veteran defender Giorgio Chiellini was penalised for a foul on Napoli's Amir Rrahmani in the penalty area to concede a 31st-minute spot kick, which Insigne converted to score what proved to be the winner and his 100th goal in all competitions for Napoli.

Elif Elmas joined Napoli as a 19-year-old in 2019 after a strong season with Fenerbahce. 

The North Macedonia international played 40 times for the Istanbul-based club in 2018-19, scoring four goals. His form and potential earned him a move to Serie A as Carlo Ancelotti and the Napoli board shelled out $17.7 million to secure his services after selling Amadou Diawara to rivals Roma. 

Napoli cruised into the Coppa Italia semifinals with a 4-2 win over Spezia on Thursday, taking a 4-0 lead into halftime. The Chucky Lozano goal vs Spezia pretty much summed up the first half for the Serie A newcomers.

Kalidou Koulibaly opened the scoring with a cheeky backheel in the fifth minute after Spezia’s defense simply gave up on the play. 

It was merely a sign of things to come for the Little Eagles.

Hellas Verona came from behind to stun Napoli with a 3-1 home win on Sunday despite Hirving Lozano having scored the visitors’ fastest-ever Serie A goal after nine seconds.

It’s been decreed by content creators across the land: Cristiano Ronaldo, with his 760th career goal, is now the top scoring player in soccer history, and there’s nothing Pelé can do now except bow to B/R Football’s use of the goat emoji. 

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— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 20, 2021

Lorenzo Insigne scored twice and produced a dazzling assist as Napoli stormed into third place in Serie A with a crushing 6-0 victory over Fiorentina on Sunday.

Striker Andrea Petagna teed up Insigne to fire home after just five minutes, and Petagna was again the provider when he teed up Diego Demme for the second.

Insigne produced a moment of magic on the 38th minute, winning the ball inside his own half and embarking on a winding dribble past several opposition defenders, before playing an inch-perfect pass behind the defense for Hirving Lozano to tap in.

From living a total “nightmare” to being closely monitored by Manchester United, what a difference six months can make. On Wednesday, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano went full circle by providing an influential performance in Napoli’s Coppa Italia Round of 16 win over Empoli.