(Football news) Napoli returned to the top of Serie A standings after they beat Bologna 3-2 thanks to a late Victor Osimhen goal to lead the table by two points. Napoli have now 10 wins in a row in all competitions and are on top of the Serie A table with 26 points after 10 games just ahead of Atalanta. Bologna’s new striker Joshua Zirkzee gave the visitors a shock lead when they opened the scoring in the 41st minute as he received a pass from Andrea Cambiaso inside the box and fired into the bottom right-hand corner of the net with his left foot.
Although that lead did not last long as Juan Jesus equalised four minutes later at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, both the teams played an intense second half, with Hirving Lozano giving the hosts the lead in the 49th minute but Musa Barrow equalised two minutes after a shot from a distance that Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret fumbled into the goal. Late on, substitute Osimhen got the winner in the 69th when he collected a through ball from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as he elegantly lobbed keeper Lukasz Skorupski.
Sandro Tonali scored a late goal to seal a 2-1 win for IAC Milan at Hellas Verona. The visitors went ahead after only nine minutes when Verona's Miguel Veloso deflected Rafael Leao's cross into his own net. Olivier Giroud should have scored a second goal for Milan two minutes later but his finish went wide. Verona deservedly equalised in the 19th minute when Koray Gunter's shot got deflected off Milan defender Matteo Gabbia which took it beyond AC Milan keeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
In the second half Ajdin Hrustic went close to putting the hosts ahead two minutes after his curling shot went just wide. Verona again went close to taking the lead in the 56th minute when Roberto Piccoli's header hit the crossbar, and Gunter's rebound went over the bar. Milan finally secured the win in the 81st minute when Ante Rebic found Tonali alone in the box with a perfect ball across and he expertly finished it past keeper Lorenzo Montipo. With this result, AC Milan are third on 23 points, and are now three points behind league leaders Napoli after 10 games. Verona remained stuck in the relegation zone on five points in 18th place.
"It was a good start, we almost went 2-0 up and had the game under control, but then there was that unfortunate equaliser and we lost our shape, making too many mistakes, the team split into two and left big spaces for Verona. It is true, I like what my players are saying. We need to be competitive for the top spots, that means winning many games and amassing many points in every arena," Pioli said.
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