Scott McTominay headed Napoli level on points with Inter Milan at the top of Serie A with the only goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win at rock-bottom Monza.
Scotland midfielder McTominay nodded home his 10th goal in all competitions this season from Giacomo Raspadori’s cross in the 72nd minute to save Napoli’s blushes after a drab display in northern Italy.
McTominay’s third goal in a week boosted Napoli’s bid for a second league title in three seasons and piled pressure on reigning champions Inter who are at high-flying Bologna on Easter Sunday.
Beyond that goal, Antonio Conte’s team created little against the division’s worst team in Monza, who are 11 points from safety with five matches remaining and set to be relegated.
Conte fuelled rumours about his departure at the end of his first season as Napoli coach after expressing frustration on Friday at the sale of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January.
Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis then said that Conte should have waited until the end of the season before making those comments.
Regardless of where Conte is next season, he and Napoli have a great chance to win the Scudetto as after Easter they face only one team in the top half of the table — 10th-placed Torino — and have no other commitments.
Meanwhile, Inter have a packed schedule, with the second leg of their Italian Cup semi-final with AC Milan coming up on Wednesday, while Barcelona await in the last four of the Champions League.
Inter will lead Napoli on goal difference even if they lose at Bologna, who are chasing Champions League qualification, but should the pair finish the season level on points the title will be decided by a play-off.
Earlier, Assane Diao fired Como towards safety with a brace in his team’s impressive 3-0 win at struggling Lecce who are one place and two points above the relegation zone.
Como are 13th on 39 points, 15 points above the bottom three with five fixtures remaining in their first Serie A season in over two decades. Diao has been one of the key reasons for near-certain survival.
Diao has scored eight times since arriving from Real Betis in January, when Como invested heavily in new players in order to avoid the drop.
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