I'll be honest: I didn't get to watch this match besides a few highlights later on. My internet was out all morning, so I had no way to watch live. But that doesn't change the fact that Napoli ran absolutely rampant on Empoli, destroying Maurizio Sarri's old side to the tune of a 5-1 victory.
Instead of a typical match review -- hard to do those if you didn't see the match, after all -- let's talk about the main takeaways from the game and what it meant.
Gonzalo Higuain scored again, giving him 22 goals in 22 games in the league, as well as 8 goals in his last seven. It's easy to take his scoring for granted at this stage, but he is in a vein of consistent goalscoring form we rarely see. Even the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who score at this pace over the course of the season are usually propped up by some explosive goalscoring runs over a few games here and there. For Higuain, he's had significantly fewer games without a goal across all competitions this year -- 10 -- than he has scored in -- 17. That's just incredible.
Lorenzo Insigne scored as well, off a gorgeous free kick. Napoli have struggled on free kicks over the last few years, but the Little General has shown increasing aptitude at causing threats from dead balls as the season has gone on. If he can make this a regular thing, Napoli will become harder and harder to stop.
Also, Jose Callejon scored a brace. Admittedly it was late in the game after Empoli was run-down and beaten, but it was still good to see him score again. Callejon has done a lot of good things this season, but has struggled when it comes to getting results in front of goal. Today, he got those results and then some. Good for him.
This was also a wonderful display for Jorginho. Thanks in large part to his efforts, Napoli held a 60-40 possession advantage in the match and passed circles around Empoli all day long. He's gotten better and better as the season has gone on, and if it weren't for Jorginho Napoli would have a much, much harder time playing their game.
Elseid Hysaj and Allan both picked up yellows that triggered a suspension for Napoli's match against Lazio on Wednesday. That could prove problematic, especially with Christian Maggio getting pitted head to head with Felipe Anderson.
The win, of course, kept Napoli atop the Serie A table for another round, which is vital since Juventus seem to have forgotten how to lose and have a painfully easy stretch of their schedule coming up. Rude.
On to the next.
Napoli: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon, Higuain (Gabbiadini 72'), Insigne
Goals: Higuain (33'), Insigne (37'), Camporese (OG 51'), Callejon (83', 88')
Empoli: Skorupski; Laurini, Tonelli, Camporese, Rui; Zielinski, Paredes, Croce (Krunic 82'); Saponara (Buchel 58'); Pucciarelli, Maccarone (Mchedlidze 68')
Goals: Paredes (28')