Lukaku fires as Napoli extends Serie A lead

The hosts found themselves ahead with just 26 seconds on the clock when Scott McTominay was picked out by Lukaku, with the Scotland international firing home his first goal for Gli Azzurri off the post.

However, Antonio Conte's side needed just eight minutes after the interval to restore its advantage when Sergi Roberto brought down Mathias Olivera in the box, with Lukaku stepping up from 12 yards to net his fourth Serie A goal of the season.

Napoli continued to push for a third goal to secure victory, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia going closest but saw his effort saved by Emil Audero.

But the points were sealed in the 86th minute when Lukaku turned provider once again, holding off his marker before slipping through substitute David Neres, who slotted home with a fine finish to extend Napoli's lead at the top of the standings.

Lukaku has been a player reborn under Conte's stewardship. The Belgian is the player who has been involved in the most goals in his first five appearances for Napoli in Serie A since the Italian top-flight returned to 20 teams in 2004-2005 with three goals and four assists.

He has also managed to better his assist tally for the whole of last season, having managed three in 32 appearances for Roma last term.

McTominay's goal after 26 seconds is the third-fastest scored by Napoli since the start of a Serie A match in the three points for a win era, after Hirving Lozano's goal against Hellas Verona in 2021 (nine seconds) and Ezequiel Lavezzi's goal against Genoa in 2008 (25 seconds).