Napoli falter against Atalanta in match week 11 of Serie A

 ROME - Serie A leaders Napoli have picked up their second loss of the season, losing 3-0 against Atalanta. The loss leaves them now only one point clear at the top of the table.

 Atalanta proved they were no match for Napoli in the first half, opening the scoring in the ninth minute thanks to a quick-thinking volley by Ademola Lookman. Lookman then scored his second in the 31^st minute riffling the ball into the bottom right hand corner from outside the penalty area, leaving Napoli’s goalkeeper defenceless.

 In the second half however, Napoli started to get their act together a bit more. Napoli were able to produce some masterful crosses into the Atalanta penalty box, but lacked the finesse of Atalanta’s attackers, failing to hit the back of the net.

 To seal the deal, and with the goal of the match, Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui volleyed a cross straight into the bottom left hand corner of the goal in the 92^nd minute.

 This means that Atalanta are now on a run of five wins from five matches, giving Napoli their first defeat since August in the league. Napoli’s advantage is now slimer than ever, as Inter, Atalanta, Fiorentina and Juventus remain hot on their heals.

 Elsewhere in the league,  match week 11 did not offer quite the same drama as other weeks. There were four 1-0 victories, with Bologna beating Lecce, AC Milan beating Monza, Fiorentina beating Torino and Inter Milan beating Venezia.

 Juventus beat Udinese 2-0, and with the highest scoring match of the week Verona beat Roma 3-2.

 All eyes move to next week and the top of the table clash between Napoli and Inter Milan which could prove decisive for both teams’ title dreams.

tjpw