Gonzalo Higuain took his tally to 20 goals in as many Serie A games

this season as Napoli went four points clear of Inter Milan after a

thrilling 3-1 win over Sassuolo on Saturday.

Until Saturday’s clash in Naples, impressive Sassuolo had gone

unbeaten against five of this season’s title challengers having claimed

wins over Napoli, Juventus and Inter and drawn with Roma and Fiorentina.

But Higuain, who is well on his way to this season’s Capocannoniere

(top scorer) award, did brilliantly to give Napoli a 42nd minute lead

after Jose Callejon’s 19th-minute header cancelled out Diego

Falcinelli’s opener from the spot.

Even before his second goal, he had already done enough to earn the praise of Sassuolo coach Eusebio Di Francesco.

“For 41 minutes my defenders made sure he didn’t get a touch. Then on

his first touch of the ball he showed all his class,” said Di

Francesco.

“You don’t need me to explain how good he is.”

Just as Napoli were hanging on to a 2-1 lead, Higuain beat Andrea

Consigli with a fierce shot from inside the area in the third minute of

added-on time to wrap up the win.

Napoli’s 13th win of the campaign leaves them top on 44 points with a

four-point cushion on Inter, who scraped a 1-1 draw away to Atalanta to

drop points for the second consecutive match after last week’s defeat

to Sassuolo. 

It means champions Juventus, in third at five points off the pace,

can move back up to second and two points clear of Inter with a win away

to Udinese on Sunday.

Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri has been credited with transforming a

side that finished fifth under Rafael Benitez last season, but he was

quick to praise his players.

“This was a good and important win for us,” he said. “It wasn’t easy

to come back into the game but the reaction the lads gave showed that

they are a real team.”

Napoli had the worst possible start, Nicola Sansone earning an early

penalty after being fouled by Raul Albiol and Falcinelli stepping up to

wrong-foot Pepe Reina in the Napoli goal after just three minutes.

If memories of Napoli’s defeat to Sassuolo on the opening season

floated back, they were soon put to rest as Napoli replied in positive

fashion.

When Insigne ran half the length of the pitch to set up Higuain the Argentine’s drive sailed off target while under pressure.

The threat of pacey front man Insigne finally came good on 19 minutes

when he got deep, waited for Callejon’s call and watched as the

Spaniard flicked a near post header past Consigli to claim his first

league goal of the season.

Napoli immediately took the momentum, and although Reina had to look

sharp to palm Matteo Politano’s angled drive to safety the hosts saw

Insigne hit the upright with a curler after he had nutmegged a defender.

The stadium erupted three minutes before half-time when Higuain put

his predator’s instincts on display to give the hosts a 2-1 lead,

throwing Lorenzo Ariaudo to the ground and off his scent before rushing

in to pounce on Hamsik’s pinpoint delivery.

Napoli enjoyed a bright start to the second half and twice Higuain

came close inside the opening six minutes, his second effort notably

flashing inches wide of Consigli’s upright.

Insigne came close again when he curled an effort just over, minutes before being replaced by Dries Mertens. 

Napoli, however, remained under threat and Pepe Reina did well not to

panic when he desperately pushed away a cross before seeing a diving

header from Lorenzo Pellegrini go wide.

Reina wasn’t helping to settle nerves either, the Spaniard scuffing a

clearance that he chased down and swept from the feet of Falcinelli 35

metres out from his goal.

But Sassuolo took their eye off the ball, literally, in the final minute of added-on time.

Callejon did well chasing to stop the ball going out of play and

found Higuain unmarked inside the area to beat Consigli down low in what

was the final kick of the game.