World News – US – Napoli bounce back from Juve’s no-show to crush Atalanta

Hirving Lozano put on a brace as Napoli knocked Atalanta 4-1 on Saturday, days after being punished for not showing up for their last Serie A game against Juventus

Napoli received a 3-0 defeat and a one point deduction for not traveling to Turin earlier this month after two cases of coronavirus in the squad were recorded

But Gennaro Gattuso’s side picked up where they left off before the controversy, with a third win in as many league games they have played

« Brilliant Napoli! What a pity not to be able to play for Juventus in Turin, » tweeted Aurelio De Laurentiis, owner of Napoli

Mexico striker Lozano scored two quick goals in the first half, after also notching a brace in Napoli’s previous game – a 6-0 win over Genoa also at the San Paolo stadium

Matteo Politano exploded in third after half an hour with Victor Osimhen scoring his first Napoli goal just before the break

Slovenian striker Josip Ilicic returned for Atalanta after nearly three months of absence with personal issues, starting alongside Papu Gomez and Duvan Zapata

But with many players returning from international service, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side lacked the firepower of their previous three games in which they scored 13 goals.

French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko got his first start for Naples with Lorenzo Insigne injured and Piotr Zielinski and Eljif Elmas still recovering from the coronavirus

Lozano slapped a cross from Giovanni Di Lorenzo after 20 minutes, closing in the second minute later after confusion in Atalanta’s defense

Politano exploded in third after half an hour with Osimhen scoring his first Napoli goal just before the break after another defensive error from Atalanta

Nigerian Osimhen waved a t-shirt after his first goal that read « End police brutality in Nigeria » as protests against police violence continue in his home country

Substitute Sam Lammers struck out a goal 20 minutes from time, but Atalanta moved first to second with Napoli one point behind them in third

Later on Saturday, Zlatan Ibrahimovic prepares to return to the Milan derby, while Juventus will be without Cristiano Ronaldo as they head south at Crotone

SSC Napoli, Serie A, Atalanta BC, Victor Osimhen, Juventus FC