Gonzalo Higuain's strike five minutes before the break has given Napoli a 1-0 lead over Palermo at half time in the Serie A clash at Stadio San Paolo.

Napoli came into the match on the back of their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions and unsurprisingly it was they who dominated the early proceedings, David Lopez seeing his fierce drive blocked and Marek Hamsik firing wide from the edge of the box.

Higuain came close to adding to his nine goals for the season when his header forced Stefano Sorrentino into a low save, and his strike partner Lorenzo Insigne had two attempts from the edge of the box as the hosts continued their early onslaught.

Jose Callejon's dangerous ball across goal evaded both Higuain and Insigne as the one-way traffic continued, but Palermo proved a stubborn opposition as Napoli continued to be frustrated in the final third.

The visitors' first-half attempts were limited to a blocked Franco Vazquez shot from outside the box as they struggled to get out of their own half, and five minutes before the interval the home side had the lead that they deserved.

Higuain collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area and drilled a low effort across Sorrentino to score for the fourth game in a row to ensure that Napoli led at the whistle.