The Albany Gazette - Osimhen treble fires Napoli six clear, Juve squeeze past Lecce

Nigeria forward Osimhen struck twice in the first 19 minutes in Naples and then dinked home his third with 13 minutes remaining to ensure Luciano Spalletti's team extended both their club-record winning streak to 13 matches and their lead on champions AC Milan, who face Torino on Sunday.

The 23-year-old has burst back into the team after over a month out with a thigh injury, rattling in six goals in his last four matches between Serie A and the Champions League.

Saturday's clinical display of finishing took his league tally this season to seven goals in eight appearances and moved him level with Bologna's Marko Arnautovic at the top of the scoring charts in Italy.

"I just want to help keep the momentum going, I want to keep helping my team," Osimhen told DAZN.

"I think this season the coach has given me as much confidence as I can get and I'm really happy to work under him... I just came back from a five weeks injury, which is not easy."

Osimhen's first two goals were laid on by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, this year's revelation who also netted the third in an exciting performance on the day Napoli celebrated late club icon Diego Maradona's 62nd birthday, which would have been Sunday.

Georgia winger Kvaratskhelia has scored eight times and set up eight more since arriving in the summer and plays for Napoli with the kind of zest and freedom which few have since Maradona fled Italy in disgrace in the early 1990s.

Napoli are still unbeaten and have netted 50 times in all competitions, and are starting to look like the real deal, a team which could end a 32-year wait for the league title for southern Italy's biggest, football-mad city.

- Fagioli saves Juve -

Troubled Juve travelled to Italy's deep south with rumours of a change of manager following their early exit from the Champions League.

But Fagioli gave his team their third straight league win with his first ever Serie A goal in the 73rd minute of a largely uneventful contest.

The 21-year-old collected a pass form fellow substitute Samuel Iling-Junior before unleashing an unsaveable curling strike which left him on the verge of tears.

Missing 10 first team players, including their leading scorer Dusan Vlahovic, Juve were up against it before kick off at the Stadio Via del Mare but the win moves them into sixth spot, 10 points behind Napoli but one above Udinese and fierce rivals Inter Milan.

Inter finish off Saturday's action when they host Sampdoria at a packed San Siro still celebrating passage to the last 16 of the Champions League with a game to spare.

Samp sit 18th and will drop Lecce into the relegation zone if they pull off a shock win.

Marco Baroni's Lecce have not been embarrassed by anyone since being promoted to the top flight last season, and they almost levelled with a minute remaining when Morten Hjulmand's low drive hit the post.

But Fagioli's strike was just enough to give under-fire Allegri some breathing room before the visit of Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

(T.Renner--BBZ)