Napoli hit Genoa for six after sensational second half

(Reuters) - Hirving Lozano struck twice as Napoli thrashed Genoa 6-0 on Sunday to begin their Serie A campaign with back-to-back victories.

The Mexico international drilled in a close-range volley after 10 minutes to give Gennaro Gattuso’s side a narrow lead at the interval, but captain Lorenzo Insigne limped off with a muscular problem.

Piotr Zielinski finished off a flowing team move within a minute of the restart, before Dries Mertens was left with time and space to fire in a shot from the edge of the area.

Lozano then slotted home his second before substitutes Eljif Elmas and Matteo Politano piled on the misery for Genoa with well-taken finishes.

Genoa's preparation was hindered by positive COVID-19 tests for goalkeeper Mattia Perin on Saturday and midfielder Lasse Schone on Sunday.

The victory sends Napoli to the top of the table with six points and a +8 goal difference from their opening two matches, while Genoa are 11th with three points.

Earlier on Sunday, newly-promoted Spezia suffered a Serie A debut to forget as they fell to a 4-1 defeat against Sassuolo.

The Ligurian club must play the first few home games of their maiden top-flight season more than 300 kilometres away in Cesena while their home ground, the Stadio Alberto Picco, is restructured to meet Serie A standards.

Striker Andrey Galabinov made history with Spezia's first Serie A goal after 30 minutes to cancel out a superb Filip Djuricic opener, but the visitors raced to a comfortable victory after the break.

Hellas Verona defeated Udinese 1-0 thanks to Andrea Favilli's second-half strike.

(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie; Editing by Toby Davis and Ian Chadband)