Last weekend, Napoli chalked up their third straight league win after beating Bologna 3-1 to go top of the Serie A for the first time this season as champions Juventus lost to Inter and Roma failed to clear a tough hurdle away at Fiorentina.

Against Bologna, Napoli took an early lead, through Jose Callejon, but despite seeing more of the ball, they were unable to add more goals before half-time.

For Callejon, this was his 50th goal since joining Napoli in 2013 from Real Madrid.

After the break, Simone Verdi grabbed an equaliser for Bologna against the run of play but, right on the hour, the game took a twist in the right direction for Napoli when coach Maurizio Sarri introduced Arkadiusz Milik.

The former Ajax hitman made all the difference as he restored the home side’s lead within seven minutes of coming on before adding another one to push the result beyond Bologna’s reach.

It is worth mentioning that this was Napoli’s 26th win in 58 home meetings with Bologna.

Following a below-par display in a 2-2 draw at newcomers Pescara on the opening day of the Serie A campaign last month, Napoli have bounced back in style to raise the fans’ expectations of a first scudetto since 1990.

Napoli’s run in the domestic league and a useful 2-1 away win against Dynamo Kiev in their opening Champions League group match are testament of a team that is already firing on all cylinders and have what it takes to go far this season.

It was always going to be very difficult for any striker to emerge from the long shadow of Gonzalo Higuain following his record transfer to Juventus in the off-season.

The ex-Real Madrid forward netted 36 goals in 35 games last season to break the previous record established by former Milan striker Gunnar Nordahl’s – 35 goals in 37 games in season 1949/50.

For Milik, Saturday’s double was his third since he joined Napoli from Ajax for €35 million last month.

In a league match against Milan, the Polish international scored twice in the opening half. In Kiev, he proved he can also produce the goods in Europe’s premier club competition as he struck both Napoli goals to help them get off to a head start.

Milik failed to make his mark for Poland at Euro 2016 but he looks to be on the right track at Napoli, also considering that he is only 22 years old and a raw novice to the Serie A.

If one had to compare Milik’s goal record in his first five appearances for Napoli with that of Higuain back in 2013, we find that Pole already has six goals under his belt against the Argentinian’s four.

When he joined Napoli at the age of 25, Higuain was already an established striker having scored 107 goals in 190 appearances for Real Madrid.

Strong squad

Milik apart, Sarri has a formidable squad at his disposal.

Contrary to last season, the 57-year-old mentor can count on reserves of strength practically in all sectors.

On Saturday, there were other international players on Napoli’s substitutes’ bench along with Milik.

These included Serbia defender Nikola Maksimovic, Emanuele Giaccherini – the Italy striker who signed from Bologna for €1.4m –  Croatia midfielder Marko Rog, Amadou Diawara – a 19-year-old Guinea midfielder who moved to Napoli from Bologna for €15m – Dries Mertens (the Belgium striker now in his third year at the San Paolo), and Faouzi Ghoulam – the Algeria full-back signed from Saint-Etienne in 2014.

Such a long list of quality players who failed to start against Bologna clearly demonstrates the big leap in quality made by Napoli in the last few years, considering that as recently as August 2004 the club was declared bankrupt with debts estimated to be in the region of €70 million.

Napoli’s bright start augurs well as the two-times Italy champions look to have all the cards in place to give Juventus a serious challenge for the coveted scudetto.

Indeed, Napoli seem to be the most equipped outfit to topple the ‘Old Lady’ from its perch.

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