Napoli 3-1 Atalanta: Neres nets superb brace to spoil Palladino's debut
Napoli got back to winning ways with a clinical display over Atalanta, moving them temporarily back to the Serie A summit on Saturday.
David Neres netted a first-half brace to help Napoli temporarily reclaim top spot in Serie A with a 3-1 win over Atalanta in Raffaele Palladino's first game in charge.
Antonio Conte's side moved a point clear at the summit ahead of Inter, who could leapfrog them with a win over rivals AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday.
Neres broke the deadlock 17 minutes in, latching onto Rasmus Hojlund's flick before racing away and sliding a low finish into the bottom left corner.
The Brazilian added a second to extend Napoli's advantage in the 38th minute, finishing clinically into the far corner with his first touch off Scott McTominay's pass.
Noa Lang added a third on the stroke of half-time, his header falling into the hands of Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, who could not keep himself over the line.
La Dea pulled one back seven minutes after the break to spark hopes of a comeback as Gianluca Scamacca drilled a low effort into the bottom corner, but it proved to be just a consolation for the visitors.
Charles De Ketelaere saw a blazing effort skim the top of the crossbar late on as Napoli were pegged back and forced to defend their lead, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic called into action to deny Ademola Lookman.
Data Debrief: Neres helps Napoli let loose
In response to a difficult run of form, Conte named his youngest starting line-up of the season, and it proved a stroke of genius as Napoli raced into a three-goal lead before the break.
Indeed, it was the first time the Partenopei finished a first half leading by three or more goals in Serie A since October 2022 against Sassuolo. Atalanta, meanwhile, finished a first half trailing by three or more for the first time since October 2020 against Napoli.
Owing to some decisive finishing, the hosts overperformed their 1.51 expected goals (xG) from their 11 shots, while the visitors could only muster 0.78 xG in response.
Neres finished the match scoring from both of his shots on target, while registering four touches in Atalanta's box, the joint-most for Napoli along with Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
