When Atalanta won earlier in the afternoon, Napoli knew three points were essential to stay within striking distance of the leaders, and Antonio Conte's men got off to a dominant start, with 75% possession in the opening 15 minutes.
The early pressure presented a brilliant opportunity to open the scoring, but Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cross to the back post was fired high and wide by an unmarked David Neres. The Brazilian winger was Napoli's most threatening player. He drove into the penalty area and seemed to shoot into the far corner, but his shot went a few centimeters wide of the post.
It took a while for Udinese to get going, but some high pressure on the Napoli backline almost paid off as after stealing the ball, Florian Thauvin flashed a shot over the bar.
The Frenchman then had the chance to break the deadlock from the penalty spot when Stanislav Lobotka was penalized for a handball in the penalty area midway through half-time.
Thauvin's penalty was brilliantly saved by Alex Meret, but the goalkeeper could do nothing to stop the Udinese man from continuing the rebound.
Napoli rarely threatened an equalizer before half-time, with Razvan Sava punching away an Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa strike which proved to be their only real chance.
Conte sent his players out in full force for the second half with a visibly clear change of momentum, and the Partenopei made it count by equalizing within five minutes of the restart.
Scott McTominay split the Udinese defense with a sublime pass, putting Romelu Lukaku through on goal, and the Belgian talisman showed incredible strength to shake off an opposition defender before firing the ball past Sava.
Napoli did not sit back after drawing, but instead the visitors continued to press forward for another second.
Neres proved dangerous on the left flank and it was the Brazilian who repaid his manager's faith to replace the injured Khvicha Kvaratskhelia after he made a dazzling run into the penalty area and had his shot deflected for an OG from Lautaro Giannetti.
The match ended in the 81st minute after Anguissa showed incredible speed and strength to break through the Udinese backline and slot the ball home.
That two-goal advantage proved crucial as Udinese, who struggled to give Napoli a glove in the second half, failed to even reduce the deficit, giving the visitors a fifth win in seven away games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: David Neres (Napoli)
View all match statistics here.
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