Dries Mertens scored twice as Napoli beat Lazio 4-0 on Sunday to take the outright lead in Serie A on the night it paid tribute to football great Diego Maradona.
As well as Mertens — who has taken over several of Maradona's records at Napoli — Piotr Zieliński and Fabián Ruiz also netted to help Napoli move three points clear of second-place AC Milan, which earlier lost 3-1 at home to Sassuolo.
It was a special night for Napoli fans as the match came three days after the one-year anniversary of Maradona's death. Maradona led Napoli to its only Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990 and is considered a god-like figure in the southern city.
A statue of the former Argentina player and coach was unveiled in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, while the players wore special shirts.
And Napoli got off to a quick start as goals from Zieliński and Mertens put it 2-0 up with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
The second of Mertens' goals, in the 29th minute, was a brilliant effort from the edge of the area that curled into the top left corner. It was a club record-extending 139th goal for Napoli from Belgium forward.
The 34-year-old Mertens was given a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 64th.
Another delightful goal from Ruiz that arrowed into the top corner from outside the area capped a memorable night for Napoli.
Lazio, which is led by former Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri, slipped seven points below fourth place.
POOR PERFORMANCE
Tammy Abraham's first-half goal was enough to give Roma a 1-0 victory over Torino despite a poor performance from Jose Mourinho's side.
Roma remained fifth, three points behind Atalanta.
Bologna won 1-0 at Spezia, and Genoa drew 0-0 at Udinese.
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