Napoli jumped to second place temporarily after a 2-0 win over host Lazio on Sunday in the 18th round of the Italian Serie A, before Inter Milan's match with Bologna concluded the evening. The southern side managed to break its deadlock with Lazio, failing to win in their last six matches across all competitions, thanks to goals from Leonardo Spinazzola (13) and Kosovo's Amir Rrahmani (32). Their last win before this encounter was on September 3, 2022, also at Lazio's home ground, 2-1, in the season that Napoli ended as champions and Lazio as runners-up. Napoli increased its points tally to 37, moving into second place, one point behind Milan, who beat Cagliari on Friday, and one point ahead of Inter Milan. The advanced defender Spinazzola, unmarked, capitalized on a cross from Matteo Politano and volleyed it past goalkeeper Ivan Provedel (13). Politano was also involved in the second goal, this time playing a free-kick into the penalty area which Rrahmani headed into the net (32). Napoli dominated most of the match, while Lazio, playing at home in front of their fans, appeared weak and failed to register a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes. It's worth noting that Lazio played the last nine minutes of regular time with ten men after the Dutch striker Tijjani Reijnders received a second yellow card (81). A scuffle broke out between Lazio defender Montenegrin Adam Marušić and Napoli substitute defender Pascal, leading to both players being sent off (88). With this sixth defeat in the league, Lazio's tally froze at 24 points, placing them ninth in the table.
