A run of four straight victories had left Napoli three points clear in first place ahead of Matchday 20, albeit having played a game more than closest rivals Atalanta and two more than Inter Milan, but the latter’s win earlier on Sunday had closed the gap to just one.
Napoli certainly didn’t appear to be feeling the pressure against Verona however, as they took the lead inside five minutes.
The opener was fortuitous, as Giorgio Di Lorenzo’s well-hit strike hit the post before bouncing back onto goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo and into the back of the net.
The hosts could have been two to the good within seconds as Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa skied over the crossbar from close-range, while Romelu Lukaku also put an effort narrowly wide.
Meanwhile, Verona struggled to trouble Napoli, with Casper Tengstedt’s header that squirmed over the bar the closest they came to testing Alex Meret between the sticks before the interval.
Napoli remained on top after the restart, with Scott McTominay testing Montipo before the Partenopei went close via a couple of Amir Rrahmani headers from Leonardo Spinazzola corners - the Kosovo international’s first attempt was cleared off the line by Davide Faraoni before he nodded over from close range moments later.
All Napoli needed was another goal to put the game to bed, and they found it around the hour mark through Anguissa, who hammered into the corner from outside the area.
That strike took any jeopardy out of the game, with Napoli able to keep possession for the majority of the remaining half-hour besides a Grigoris Kastanos long-distance effort that was parried to safety by Meret.
They are now four points clear, which is a healthy buffer even if Inter can leapfrog them if they win their two extra matches. Verona, meanwhile, remain just one point clear of the bottom three as this result brought an end to a two-game unbeaten run.