NAPLES, Aug 28 — Napoli comfortably sealed a 2-0 home victory against Sassuolo yesterday through goals from Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, while Lazio were unexpectedly beaten 1-0 at home by Serie A newcomers Genoa.

Osimhen opened the scoring after 16 minutes when he converted a penalty after Sassuolo’s Daniel Boloca brought down Matteo Politano.

Maxime Lopez made things worse for the visiting team when he was sent off in the 51st minute for verbally abusing the referee.

Napoli were awarded another penalty around the hour mark when Jeremy Toljan handled the ball, yet Giacomo Raspadori’s effort sailed over the bar.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s perfectly timed through ball in the 64th minute sent Di Lorenzo on a clear path to score as he doubled Napoli’s lead.

The Georgian midfielder was making his first appearance of the season as a substitute after recovering from a muscle issue, and within just three minutes of coming on, he provided an assist.

"Kvara only had two weeks or so of training out of five from pre-season, so it was better for him to come on when the opponents were tired and he could really make the difference,” Napoli coach Rudi Garcia said.

"He is back and that is great news for Napoli.”

Lazio fell short

Lazio’s Serie A struggles continued as Genoa secured the only goal through Mateo Retegui’s header from a rebound in the 16th minute. Lazio have now lost both of their Serie A matches this season.

Retegui was in the right place at the right time inside the box when Lazio’s keeper Ivan Provedel had to parry out a volley from Morten Frendrup.

Genoa showed little respect for last season’s runners-up and had multiple opportunities in the early minutes.

Lazio had chances to level but were unlucky, notably when Ciro Immobile struck the crossbar shortly after the hour mark.

On a scorching Rome night, Lazio were sluggish moving the ball and ultimately faded as the match neared the end.

"There were steps forward, not enough, even though the result tonight feels rather unfair. It means we need more steps forward,” Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri told Sky Sports Italia. — Reuters