Napoli scraped a victory away to Lecce thanks to another Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa goal, but also Vanja Milinkovic-Savic saving the Francesco Camarda penalty.
The Partenopei were back on top of the table after the dramatic 3-1 win over Inter, but it came at a cost, as Kevin De Bruyne will be out for several months with a serious thigh strain. Stanislav Lobotka, Alex Meret and Romelu Lukaku were also still on the treatment table, but Rasmus Hojlund and Amir Rrahmani were back on the bench. The 4-3-3 formation returned, with Scott McTominay and Leonardo Spinazzola rested. Lecce missed Riccardo Sottil, Matias Perez, Gaby Jean and Filip Marchwinski after the 3-2 defeat to Udinese.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Napoli wore their special edition Halloween kit and Billy Gilmour saw his snapshot deflected wide, but Lorenzo Lucca accidentally charged down a Matteo Politano strike that was on target.
The hosts also threatened with Medon Berisha drilling wide from the edge of the area, while Politano turned over from six yards on the Matias Olivera pull-back.
Wladimiro Falcone made a huge save using his legs at the near post to deny Olivera, who had been sent clear by a smart Gilmour first-touch lay-off.
Francesco Camarda’s chest and half-volley was inches wide on the stroke of half-time, but wouldn’t have counted over handball.
Noa Lang hobbled off with a knock to the thigh just above the left knee moments after the restart, adding to the growing list of Napoli absentees.
There was a double chance to open the scoring when Lucca ran onto a long ball that Falcone rushed out to nod clear, then Politano’s follow-up was charged down with the goalkeeper off his line.
Kialonda Gaspar’s header on a corner seemed to strike the hand of Juan Jesus, which bent back on impact, so the Lecce penalty was awarded following a VAR review. Camarda stepped up, but Vanja Milinkovic-Savic confirmed his status as a specialist by parrying the spot-kick, meaning he has saved five of the last nine Serie A penalties faced.
Hojlund made his comeback from injury, with McTominay and Leonardo Spinazzola strengthening the squad from the bench for the final half-hour.
It paid off, as Napoli took the lead when a David Neres free kick was glanced into the far top corner off the head of Anguissa from six yards.
Elmas blasted wide and Nikola Stulic was too sluggish to make the most of a Danilo Veiga pull-back, while in stoppages Hojlund failed to meet the Neres assist.
Lecce 0-1 Napoli
Anguissa 69 (N)
Saved penalty: Camarda 56 (L)
Player statistic
| 26' |  |
Mathías Olivera |
| Francesco Camarda |  |
56' | ||
| Ylber Ramadani | |
62' | ||
| 69' |  |
Frank Anguissa (Assist: David Neres) | ||
| Konan N’Dri | |
88' |
Match statistic
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