Naples (Italy), Dec 23 (IANS): Spanish defender Raul Albiol scored Napoli's 1-0 winner over visiting SPAL in a Serie A event at Stadio San Paolo here on Saturday.
Albiol scored the lone goal on a header off a corner-kick cross by Belgian forward Dries Mertens, seconds before the first half ended, reports Efe news.
With its fourth win in a row and the 13th in the season, Napoli stayed in the standings' second spot with 41 points, five points behind leader and defending champion Juventus, who was set to square off against AS Roma later in the day.
Meanwhile, SPAL fell to the 16th place in the table with just 16 points, out of 17 matches.
Elsewhere in Italian league, AC Milan was defeated 1-0 at home by Fiorentina, thanks to Italian winger Federico Chiesa's winner in the 73rd minute.
Meanwhile, Sassuolo and Udinese played 1-1 ties with Torino and Frosinone, respectively.