Napoli regain their form with a win over Bologna

Napoli regained their form after three consecutive defeats across all competitions by defeating visitors Bologna 1-0 in the fourth round of the Italian Serie A. Napoli’s victory was thanks to their Slovakian midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, who scored the winning goal in the 66th minute at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in southern Italy.

Napoli moved up to sixth place with six points, securing their second league win after an opening 2-0 victory over Genoa. Meanwhile, Bologna remained on one point from one draw and three defeats, sitting in 17th place.

The team, managed by Massimiliano Allegri, ended a streak of three consecutive losses domestically and in Europe, which had come against Como (1-2) and Inter (2-3) in the previous two league rounds, and against English side Arsenal (0-1) in the UEFA Champions League.

Lecce deepened their crisis with a 3-1 defeat to visitors Monza, handing them their third loss in four matches.

Lazio squandered a two-goal lead against visitors Milan, settling for a disappointing 2-2 draw. Lazio had seemed to have secured the result in the first half with goals from Matteo Cancellieri (10th minute) and Dutchman Tijn Nijssens (39th minute). However, Milan responded in the second half with two goals in quick succession, both scored by Belgian substitute Diego Moreira, who came on after the break and netted in the 65th and 67th minutes.

Moreira, who joined Milan from French club Strasbourg for approximately 50 million euros, opened his account in Serie A in only his second appearance for the Rossoneri.

After three consecutive wins against Bologna and Genoa (both 1-0) and Udinese (2-1), the capital city side, led by former Milan star and manager Gennaro Gattuso, failed to secure a win in their first real test of the season against Milan. Milan had also not tasted defeat, having drawn 1-1 with Juventus in the previous round.

Lazio moved to the top of the table with 10 points, one point ahead of second-placed Roma, who host Torino today. Defending champions Inter, in third place, host Udinese on the same day.

Milan, managed by Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim, sit fourth with eight points. Amorim said, “We were not on the mark at all in the first half; we lacked energy and gave them too much space.” The 41-year-old added, “After the break, we became a different team, and the game turned completely around, but we still have a lot of work to do.”

Cagliari secured their second consecutive win, beating hosts Atalanta 2-1, moving them to ninth place with nine points. Atalanta suffered their second consecutive defeat and remain ninth with six points.

Genoa drew 1-1 with Frosinone. Como also play today against Parma.