Napoli hammer Lecce, up to 3rd

Roma grab late win

MILAN, Sept 22, (RTRS): A Fernando Llorente double helped Napoli move into third place in Serie A with a 4-1 win at Lecce on Sunday, while Edin Dzeko scored a last-gasp winner as Roma beat Bologna 2-1.

Spaniard Llorente struck the opening goal on his first start for Carlo Ancelotti’s side before Lorenzo Insigne doubled their lead with a penalty before the break.

Fabian Ruiz’s curling strike made it three before Marco Mancosu pulled one back for Lecce from the penalty spot, but Llorente made sure of the points with a tap-in.

In Bologna, Roma defender Aleksandar Kolarov went from hero to zero in the space of five second-half minutes as he scored a superb free-kick before conceding a penalty to gift Nicola Sansone the equaliser.

Roma’s Gianluca Mancini was shown a second yellow card with five minutes remaining but Dzeko powered home a header from point-blank range in the dying seconds to send the capital club fourth.

SOCCER

Napoli are third on nine points, one behind Juventus and three off leaders Inter Milan, while Roma are one point behind them and Bologna occupy fifth place on seven points.

Elsewhere, Sampdoria earned their first points of the season with a 1-0 win over Torino, while Francesco Caputo scored twice in Sassuolo’s 3-0 victory against SPAL.

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Llorente earned a starting spot for the first time since joining Napoli on a free transfer on deadline day.

The 34-year-old scored in the 2-0 Champions League victory over Liverpool during the week and was again decisive as he latched on to a deflected shot to roll in Napoli’s opener after 28 minutes.

Insigne then scored from the spot at the second time of asking after goalkeeper Gabriel was pinged for coming off his line early when he saved the first effort, resulting in a retake.

Ruiz struck a sublime third after the break before Mancosu gave the home side hope from the spot, but Llorente ended any suggestion of a comeback when he pounced on Gabriel’s parry to tap in his side’s fourth with eight minutes remaining.