A second-half goal from Giovanni Di Lorenzo was enough to give Napoli a 1-0 win over Lecce on Saturday and the home side extended their unbeaten run to eight games and extended their lead in the Serie A table.

Napoli now have 22 points, five ahead of defending champions Inter Milan, who face third-placed Juventus on Sunday Derby d'Italia.

Di Lorenzo, who had a goal disallowed in the first half, fired the ball into the net in the 73rd minute after his first attempt was parried and that was enough to take all three points at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Despite its weak ranking and dismal results, Lecce was far from clear of the league leaders, but suffered its fourth defeat in a row and remains second from bottom in the overall standings with five points.

The visitors entered last weekend's game with a 6-0 defeat against Fiorentina and only one win this season, but they stifled a Napoli side that struggled to create many clear-cut chances.

Last weekend, Napoli eked out a 1-0 win at Empoli and needed a penalty to break the game. Although the team was livelier this time, they still struggled to find a breakthrough in an even first half.

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The home team's only real chance in the first 45 minutes came just before half-time when Cyril Ngonge's long-range shot was saved by Wladimiro Falcone, but Lecce's Federico Baschirotto also saved a header from Alex Meret.

Napoli finally found a way through when Scott McTominay's header from a corner was saved by Falcone and the goalkeeper was also able to influence Di Lorenzo's first attempt at the rebound, the Napoli captain sinking the follow-up shot from close range.

Lecce tried to push forward in search of an equaliser, but the team, who have only scored three goals in the league this season, never seriously threatened Meret's goal, and Napoli, although again, were less than convincing was, got the decisive three points.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday, with Lecce hosting Hellas Verona and Napoli at AC Milan, who are not playing this weekend after Saturday's game in Bologna was postponed due to flooding.