Romelu Lukaku scored with the last kick of the game to give Napoli a dramatic 2-1 victory away to rock bottom Hellas Verona, after Rasmus Hojlund netted at both ends.
2025/2026 Serie A
1-2
Match Report
Lukaku, who missed the first four months of the season with a thigh injury, pounced in the 96th minute to stop Napoli dropping valuable points at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi.
Napoli needed just two minutes to get in front. Antonio Vergara helped Matteo Politano's cross on to Rasmus Hojlund, who looped a lovely header across goal and in off the post.
Eljif Elmas forced Lorenzo Montipo into action with a powerful drive midway through the first half and Hojlund would have had a second had Andrias Edmundsson not made an important clearance after the Denmark international rounded the Verona goalkeeper.
Napoli were furious when Verona drew level in the 64th minute. Alessandro Buongiorno felt he was fouled by Kieron Bowie before putting the ball behind, but a corner was awarded and it sat up nicely for Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro to lash past Alex Meret, with a touch off Hojlund.
Antonio Conte was shown a yellow card as his frustrations grew and Verona pushed for a winner, which they nearly got when Meret missed a cross at the back post, but Bowie could not turn it home.
Lukaku made Verona pay for that missed chance when he drilled Giovane Simeone's deflected cross past Montipo to keep Napoli's Champions League qualification hopes on track.
Lukaku bags a goal at the death to win it for the Azzurri! #VeronaNapoli 2-1 pic.twitter.com/TmOiX2181K
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) February 28, 2026
Data Debrief: Lukaku back on target
Having missed much of the season through injury, Lukaku scored his first Serie A goal since converting against Cagliari on May 23, 2025.
The gap of 281 days between league goals is the longest in his career in the top-five European leagues.
There was not much to split the two sides, with Verona producing 0.31 expected goals from eight shots to Napoli's 0.85, also from eight attempts, as Lukaku's touch made the all-important difference.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
1' Highlight from Verona vs Napoli
2' GOAL! Verona 0-1 Napoli (Rasmus Højlund)
35' Match Event for Verona vs Napoli
51' Highlight from Verona vs Napoli
53' Match Event for Verona vs Napoli
63' GOAL! Verona 1-1 Napoli
69' Match Event for Verona vs Napoli
95' GOAL! Verona 1-2 Napoli
Line-ups
Verona XI: Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, Lorenzo Montipò, Gagliardini, Victor Nelsson, Abdou Harroui, Domagoj Bradarić, Kieron Bowie, Bella-Kotchap, Andrias Edmundsson, Daniel Oyegoke, Amin Sarr
Subs: Simone Perilli, Martin Frese, Daniel Mosquera, Cheikh Niasse, Tomas Suslov, Giacomo Toniolo, Nicolás Valentini, Tobias Slotsager, Ioan Vermeșan, Isaac, Fallou Cham
Napoli XI: Juan, Spinazzola, Lobotka, Politano, Meret, Elmas, Buongiorno, Sam Beukema, Højlund, Alisson Santos, Antonio Vergara
Subs: Lukaku, Nikita Contini, Vanja Milinković-Savić, Pasquale Mazzocchi, M.Olivera, Miguel Gutiérrez, Gilmour, Giovane, Vincenzo Prisco