Napoli beat Como to hold top spot in Serie A

Napoli ensured top spot in Serie A for at least another week with Friday’s hard-fought 3-1 win over Como which extended their league lead to four points.

Scott McTominay’s opener, his first goal in Italy’s top flight, after just 25 seconds, a Romelu Lukaku penalty seven minutes after half-time and a late David Neres finish gave Napoli the three points from an even match.

Closest rivals Juventus can pull back to within a point of Antonio Conte’s team with a home win over Cagliari on Sunday.

Como pushed Napoli all the way at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and were deservedly level at the break thanks to a stunning long-range strike from Gabriel Strefezza, which came shortly after Nico Paz thumped a shot off the woodwork.

And the match was firmly in the balance until Neres rolled home his second Napoli goal in the 86th minute after being brilliantly slipped through by Lukaku.

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That was the second of the Belgium forward’s assists on Friday as he also supplied the pass from which Scotland’s McTominay fired in his second goal for Napoli after also netting against Palermo in the Italian Cup last month.

McTominay has been excellent since signing for Napoli from Manchester United in the summer, adding a new dimension to the midfield for southern Italy’s biggest club.

Under Conte Napoli look much more like the team which swept to their third league title last year than the disastrous outfit which last season failed to even qualify for European football as reigning champions.