Napoli remained unbeaten at home in the league for the whole of 2025, and their pursuit of similar dominance in the new year began with an inventive Giovanni Di Lorenzo pass in behind, which Eljif Elmas latched onto, yet his first-time hit was thwarted at the near post by Lorenzo Montipò.
But that run was under threat 16 minutes in, as Verona scored on their first venture into the hosts’ box. Cheikh Niasse got to the byline on the right side and played the ball across for Martin Frese, whose delightful flicked finish gave Vanja Milinkovic-Savic no chance.
Things got worse for Antonio Conte’s side midway through the first half, when VAR spotted a potential handball inside the area against Alessandro Buongiorno. Matteo Marchetti concurred upon review, and Gift Orban picked out the bottom corner with the resulting penalty.
At the other end, Di Lorenzo’s delivery continued to be on point, but Rasmus Hojlund could only head his cross over the bar as frustrations grew. The Dane attempted to make amends before the break, and would have grabbed an assist had Scott McTominay’s strike not been met by a vital Unai Nunez block.
With nine of their previous 10 league goals coming before half-time, the champions needed a change in fortunes, and after Montipò did well to deny a Noa Lang effort following a swift move eight minutes in, that change arrived.
The Verona goalkeeper misjudged the resulting corner, and McTominay’s header flew past him and into the net. With their tails up, Napoli continued to send teasing balls into the Mastini box, but a lack of a finishing touch meant they still trailed with 20 minutes to play.
The Partenopei twice thought their wait was over soon afterwards when a Matteo Politano centre caused havoc in the box, and Hojlund stabbed the ball home, only for VAR to spot another handball, this time against Hojlund. McTominay then had the ball in the net once more, but this time the offside flag was up.
However, Napoli finally completed the comeback eight minutes from time, when Luca Marianucci’s ball to the near post was swept home by Di Lorenzo.
That goal ensured Napoli stayed unbeaten at home since December 2024, though they missed the chance to go top of the table. Giovane could have won it for Paolo Zanetti’s side in stoppage time, but his chip over Milinkovic-Savic dropped agonisingly wide, though Verona have at least ended a run of back-to-back 3-0 defeats, while they’ve moved to within two points of safety.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli)