David Neres scored a first-half brace to help Napoli temporarily regain top spot in Serie A with a 3–1 win over Atalanta in Raffaele Palladino’s first game in charge.
Antonio Conte’s side moved one point clear at the top of Inter, who surpassed them with victory over rivals AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday.
Neres broke the deadlock on 17 minutes by holding Rasmus Hojlund’s strike before pulling away and sliding a low finish into the bottom left corner.
The Brazilian added a second to extend Napoli’s lead in the 38th minute, finishing clinically in the far corner with his first touch from Scott McTominay’s pass.
Noa Lang scored a third on the stroke of half-time, with his header falling into the hands of Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, who could not keep himself over the line.
La Dea pulled one back seven minutes after the break and gave hope of a comeback when Gianluca Scamacca drilled a low effort into the bottom corner, but it proved only a consolation for the visitors.
Charles De Ketelaere saw a blazing effort slide over the crossbar late on as Napoli were put back and forced to defend their lead, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic called into action to deny Ademola Lookman.
Full-time#NapoliAtalanta 3-1
#ForzaNapoliAlways pic.twitter.com/swk3RQvI95
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) November 22, 2025
Data Debrief: Neres helps Napoli let loose
In response to a tough run of form, Conte named his youngest starting line-up of the season, and it proved a stroke of genius as Napoli raced into a three-goal lead before half-time.
Indeed, it was the first time the Partenopei had finished a first half three or more goals ahead in Serie A since October 2022 against Sassuolo. Atalanta, meanwhile, finished a first half trailing by three or more against Napoli for the first time since October 2020.
Decisive finishing saw the hosts outperform their expected goals of 1.51 (xG) from their eleven shots, while the visitors could only muster 0.78 xG in response.
Neres finished the match by scoring with both of his shots on target, while registering four touches in the Atalanta penalty area, the highest for Napoli along with Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
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