Napoli failed to register as much as a shot on target against Lazio last time out, but visiting goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipò was tested early by the returning Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The winger unleashed a fierce shot that was parried away by the Italian on 10 minutes, before his thunderous volley was brilliantly stopped by Montipò just a few moments later. Verona did not offer much at the other end in the first half, but Darko Lazović squandered their best chance just before HT, as he curled wide when he could have picked out a teammate after a dangerous break.
The visitors were grateful to go into the second half level, but came fast out of the traps with a trio of opportunities to go ahead. Diego Coppola flicked the ball just over after finding himself free at the back post, before Lazović produced their first shot on target with a powerful strike from distance that stung the palms of Pierluigi Gollini. Juan Cabal then headed wide from close range following a corner, as the home crowd started to get anxious. Giovanni Simeone did his best to ease those nerves as he poked Juan Jesus’ cross towards goal, but his effort was well-saved by Montipò.
Verona grew in belief the longer the game went on, and with 72 minutes on the clock, they found an unlikely breakthrough. Coppola did not connect cleanly with Tomáš Suslov’s free-kick, but the ball floated into the bottom corner off his shoulder for his first goal in senior football. However, Napoli responded quickly, and after a smart double-save from Montipò to deny Jesper Lindstrøm, Cyril Ngonge came back to haunt the club he left in the January transfer window by slotting home to break Verona hearts.
If that was not enough of a blow for the visitors, Kvaratskhelia produced a moment of magic with just three minutes left, as the Georgian curled beautifully into the top corner from range to gift the hosts a precious three points in the race for European places, while Verona are left to lament what could have been, as their winless away league run now stretches to 11 matches to keep them inside the relegation zone.
