Napoli seals hard-fought win against Torino
Alisson Santos and Eljif Elmas were on target as Napoli earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over Torino at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona to keep Serie A top four hopes alive.
Brazilian winger Santos drilled home early and Elmas lashed in a second, before Napoli held out after Cesare Casadei's late consolation to leave itself third in the table and just a point behind second-placed AC Milan.
It took just seven minutes for Santos to jink in from the left flank and brilliantly hit a low daisy-cutter into the near corner.
Nikola Vlasic tested Vanja Milinkovic-Savic with a couple of efforts as Torino sought a swift response, before Rasmus Hojlund wastefully headed over Matteo Politano's teasing cross for Napoli.
Santos and Hojlund were both denied by Alberto Paleari early in the second half, but Napoli did find a second when Leonardo Spinazzola's left-wing cross was cushioned down by Politano and fired home by Elmas.
Napoli was also boosted by the return of Kevin De Bruyne, who returned from 132 days on the sidelines with an apperance off the bench in the 78th minute, when he replaced Santos.
Casadei nodded past Milinkovic-Savic from Adams's cushioned header into his path to set up a nervy ending, but it was too little too late for Torino, which stays 14th in the table.
Antonio Conte lauded Napoli's response to its recent injury crisis and its continued show of strength and desire.
"Very, very satisfied," Conte said.
"The way they've returned, it seems like they never left, but they really have.
"We've been without him [De Bruyne] for many months, even without Lukaku, but the strength of this team has been in never looking for excuses for absence.
"We never lose our spirit, our desire, and our determination. In times of great emergency, there has always been a great response.
"That's how we won a Supercoppa Italiana and have always remained at the top of the table. It wasn't at all a given."
Alisson is only the fifth player to score in his first two Serie A home games for Napoli since 1994-1995, while his seventh-minute strike was the Partenopei's fifth-fastest league goal of the campaign.
Elmas, meanwhile, scored his first Serie A goal for Napoli in 832 days, previously scoring in November 2023 away to Atalanta. It was his first such home goal since February 2023.
"Alisson is getting into the swing of things, but he can't be shy, just like he did," Conte added.
"Sometimes he has to try harder: I don't get angry if he makes a mistake, I get angry if he does the simple thing.
"And let's not forget Sant'Elmas, we need to build a statue of him. He understands football, he's versatile, he plays everywhere, he's making his eighteenth consecutive start."
