Napoli, in a crucial match held at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, defeated Empoli 3-0 and reduced their gap with league leaders Inter, who had beaten Cagliari 3-1 on Saturday, back to three points.

Romelu Lukaku was the undisputed star of the match, contributing with a goal and two assists to secure Napoli’s victory. His first key pass led to the opening goal in the 18th minute, setting up Scott McTominay, who struck a powerful shot from outside the box to beat Davide Vass.

Empoli responded immediately, but Emmanuel Gyasi sent his header over the bar from a great position. Minutes later, Billy Gilmour could have scored the second goal for the Scots, but his long-range shot went wide.

Sebastiano Esposito had another great chance before halftime, but his spectacular shot from outside the box went for a corner.

Napoli, who have dropped 10 points from winning positions this season, started the second half strongly to seal the game. Juan Jesus, McTominay, and Olivera each had opportunities but failed to hit the target. However, Olivera played a key role in Napoli’s second goal, delivering a perfect pass to Lukaku in the 56th minute, who finished precisely from inside the box. Five minutes later, Lukaku and McTominay combined again, with the Belgian assisting the Scot for the third goal.

The only bad news for Napoli was the injury to Juan Jesus, who had replaced the injured Alessandro Buongiorno but was forced off with a muscle problem, making way for Rafa Marin—a player who hasn’t featured in any official match since mid-February.

Lukaku had another chance before being substituted, but his close-range effort narrowly missed the post. This decisive victory took Napoli to 68 points, keeping them three points behind league leaders Inter.