Lukaku celebrating his goal
Romelu Lukaku is back and he made sure his return counted.
After spending close to three months on the sidelines with injury, the striker came off the bench and scored a late winner to help Napoli beat Verona 2 to 1 at the Bentegodi.
Napoli had a fast start. Rasmus Højlund scored inside the first two minutes to give them the lead and it looked like they might control the game from there.
But Verona grew into it and found their equaliser midway through the second half through Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro.
From that point, the match became tight and physical.
Both teams finished with eight shots each.
Napoli had slightly more possession with 52 per cent, while Verona had 48 per cent. Napoli managed four shots on target compared to Verona’s three. The game was balanced in corners too, 5 to 4 in Napoli’s favour, and the foul count showed how competitive it was. Napoli committed 14 fouls and the home side 12.
The decisive moment came deep into stoppage time. In the 96th minute, the ball fell nicely inside the box and Lukaku reacted quickest to finish calmly. It was a simple goal, but one that sealed all three points.
For Napoli, it was an important win. For Lukaku, it was the perfect way to announce his return after a long spell out.
