Lazio 0-2 Napoli: Politano stars in feisty Serie A clash

Napoli drew within a point of Serie A leaders AC Milan as they beat nine-man Lazio 2-0 on Sunday.

Matteo Politano assisted both of Napoli’s goals at Stadio Olimpico, where a lacklustre Lazio team failed to register a shot on target and Antonio Conte’s side also saw a man sent off.

Politano’s excellent centre was steered home on the volley by Leonardo Spinazzola in the 13th minute to open the scoring.

Napoli doubled up in the 32nd minute when Politano’s teasing free-kick was headed in by Amir Rrahmani.

Eljif Elmas, who had earlier struck the woodwork, headed wide from a great opportunity before a frantic final 15 minutes saw three players receive their marching orders.

Tijjani Noslin picked up a second yellow card when he scythed down Alessandro Buongiorno, before Adam Marusic and Pasquale Mazzocchi were sent off following an altercation.

There was still time for Mateo Guendouzi to head against the crossbar, but Napoli were otherwise untroubled as they made it back-to-back wins, while they have won their last four matches in all competitions without conceding a single goal in return.

4 – Napoli have won four consecutive games adding a clean sheets in all competitions for the first time in the current season (last time between April and May 2025, also four in that case). Battleship.#LazioNapoli pic.twitter.com/Faz4FF0pbj

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 4, 2026

Data Debrief: Lazio’s unbeaten streak comes to a halt

Lazio went into this game having gone unbeaten in 12 league meetings against Napoli, but Maurizio Sarri – who suffered his first Serie A defeat to Conte – saw his team hardly lay a glove on the reigning champions.

The hosts registered chances worth only 0.36 expected goals from five attempts, with Napoli having 14 shots for an accumulative 1.68 xG.

Politano was the pick of the bunch, creating a game-leading three chances, with two of those resulting in goals.