Milan // Gonzalo Higuain hit his 22nd goal in as many Serie A games to keep his record-chasing quest intact as Napoli reclaimed top spot with a 5-1 drubbing of Empoli.
Champions Juventus had earlier gone top with a 4-0 rout of Chievo in Verona where Alvaro Morata scored two to take his goals tally to four this week after netting twice in a 3-0 Cup semi-final win over Inter Milan.
But Napoli, bidding for their first league crown since Diego Maradona’s heyday at the club in 1990, restored their two-point advantage.
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“We started well, but it wasn’t easy to come back from their opener because from their last seven away games Empoli have won four times,” Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri said. “We went on to fix things in the end because the lads had the right attitude.
“But now we have to look to Wednesday when we play Lazio, and hopefully we’ll get it right again.”
As Napoli target a first title in 26 years, Higuain is chasing Serie A’s all-time record of 35 goals scored in a single, 20-team league season, set by AC Milan forward Gunnar Nordahl in 1950.
With 16 games remaining, the Argentine is not slowing down although he was replaced halfway during the second half when he received treatment after landing heavily from a mid-air clash.
Earlier, Alvaro Morata hit his second double of the week to take Juve to a club record of 12 consecutive victories.
Morata was given a rare start by Massimiliano Allegri in the Italian Cup semi-final against Inter.
It earned the Spaniard a spot yesterday alongside 12-goal striker Paulo Dybala, and Morata seized the day to put the visitors 2-0 up by half time.
Brazilian left-back Alex Sandro added a third on the hour and Paul Pogba hit Juve’s fourth just six minutes later.
Allegri applauded his side’s composure against an outclassed Chievo, but calmed talk of equalling the club’s record of winning five consecutive titles.
“There are still 16 games left to play and lots of points to play for so it’s far from over,” Allegri told Sky Sport.
He also played down equalling Antonio Conte’s feat of steering Juve to 12 consecutive wins in the 2013/14 campaign, adding: “It’s the players who go out there and play, they win the games and I’m only there to lend a hand. To me, records don’t matter. What’s the point of winning 20 in a row if it doesn’t win you the title.”
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