Napoli's saviour comes from Cameroon! Anguissa's winner breaks sturdy Lecce

Napoli suffered, Napoli struggled, Napoli didn't play well. Vanja Milinkovic Savic's penalty save kept their dreams of victory alive against Lecce, which proved to be a "tough nut to crack." The Neapolitans' fans must have had flashbacks from ten days ago, when their lads lost to Torino and, at that point, lost the top of the Serie A table.

But then Antonio Conte's "superman" and Napoli's saviour stepped up again, just like had already done three times this season, and scored a vital winner that kept the champions in the leading position - 1-0.

Even though goals aren't his primary task, Frank Anguissa once again proved to be arguably the crucial player in Conte's squad, netting the 69th-minute winner, which was his second consecutive goal, as he found the net against Inter Milan three days ago as well.

In that clash, he confirmed the triumph, and today, he directly brought three points to his team, but the question is how long he'll be able to do so. Forwards need to step up, and Conte has to find a solution for his side's offensive struggles.

Antonio Conte returned to his hometown, Lecce, and the stadium Via del Mare, where he spent nine years (including his youth days) at the beginning of his career. Still, his Napoli didn't look good during the first half at the heel of the Italian Peninsula.

The current Serie A table toppers did control the game, but got little benefit from it. The Neapolitans had the only notable chance before the break in the 35th minute, when Lecce custodian Wladimiro Falcone and defender Tiago Gabriel managed to save their goal with a stop and a goal-line clearance after Mathias Olivera's attempt.

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The visitors mostly attacked through the flanks, over Matteo Politano and Noa Lang, but the main impression was their subpar striker Lorenzo Lucca, whose underwhelming performance reminded everyone how much Napoli missed Romelu Lukaku.

On the other hand, Lecce barely crossed the halfway line, wasting their best chances in the 23rd minute and added time, as both Medon Berisha and Francesco Camarda fired wide off the post.

Either way, the second-worst Serie A defence held out after the opening 45 minutes against the reigning champions of Italy.

At the break, both Conte and Eusebio Di Francesco enhanced their attacks, as the former subbed on David Neres for Lang, while the latter sent Tete Morente in for Santiago Pierotti. Still, the beginning of the second half was way better for Lecce.

Namely, ten minutes after the break, following Kialonda Gaspar's header after a corner kick, Napoli defender Juan Jesus handballed, and the ref Giuseppe Collu pointed to the spot. Camarda aimed for the bottom-right corner but the visitors' custodian Vanja Milinkovic Savic anticipated his intention and stopped the effort!

And even though the saved spot-kick would naturally dishearten the team that missed it and boost the rivals' confidence, Napoli continued with their mediocre display. At the hour mark, Conte sent Scott McTominay and Rasmus Hojlund to the pitch, aware that the clock was ticking for his crew, but his Cameroonian saviour was again the one who stepped up and brought him the goal, although that's not his primary job.

After scoring the winner against Cagliari two months ago, and vital goals versus Genoa and Inter Milan during the past three and a half weeks, Frank Anguissa made it clear that he was the most essential player in the Neapolitans' squad, netting the opener in the 69th minute, following Billy Gilmour's free-kick cross!

If they managed to keep their heads up after the wasted pen, Anguissa's deadlock-breaker definitely "killed" mood in the home crew, as they were nowhere near the level they kept before the 69th minute. Although they didn't shine, the Neapolitans grabbed three points on the road and remained the Serie A leaders.

SERIE A ROUND 9

Tuesday

Lecce - Napoli 0-1 (0-0)

/Anguissa 69/

22.45: (2.70) Atalanta (3.40) Milan (2.75)

Wednesday

20.30: (1.60) Como (3.60) Verona (6.50)

20.30: (1.48) Juventus (4.40) Udinese (8.00)

20.30: (1.53) Roma (4.25) Parma (7.00)

22.45: (1.80) Bologna (3.60) Torino (5.10)

22.45: (1.90) Genoa (3.50) Cremonese (4.70)

22.45: (1.40) Inter (4.60) Fiorentina (8.00)

Thursday

20.30: (2.60) Cagliari (3.25) Sassuolo (3.00)

22.45: (3.70) Pisa (3.45) Lazio (2.15)

*** odds are subject to change***