Antonio Conte’s men have been untouchable in recent weeks, and they carried that momentum into this clash that carried huge ramifications at both ends of the table.
The Partenopei had the ball in the net inside two minutes thanks to a clever flick from Romelu Lukaku to redirect Matteo Politano’s tame shot, but to Lecce’s relief, the strike was chalked off for offside.
However, that proved only a temporary reprieve for the hosts, who fell behind in the 24th minute thanks to a tremendous strike from Giacomo Raspadori. The Napoli forward slammed home a free-kick that he had won right on the edge of the box, marking his first start since before the March international break with another potentially priceless goal in the title race.
Lecce desperately needed a response in their fight for survival, and only the width of the woodwork prevented them from drawing level when Kialonga Gaspar’s powerful near-post header came back off the crossbar.
The visitors regrouped after a spell of pressure on their goal, and ought to have gone in at the break with a two-goal lead, but Raspadori could only drag his shot wide after being played in by Scott McTominay.
A double change at the break sparked an improvement from the Giallorossi, with Porir Johann Helgason particularly influential.
First, the Icelandic international saw a shot from the edge of the box deflect off Stanislav Lobotka and tipped over by Alex Meret, before he audaciously attempted to catch the goalkeeper out from a free-kick on the left, though he could only find the side-netting.
After that scare, Napoli delivered a masterclass in game management, keeping their opponents at an arm’s length to see out a crucial victory that, temporarily at least, opens up a six-point gap over defending champions Inter Milan.
Lecce, meanwhile, saw their winless run stretch to 12 matches thanks to a fourth successive scoring blank in head-to-heads, leaving them just a point clear of the relegation zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli)
