At the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Napoli took a big step toward the Scudetto on matchday 33 of Serie A, thanks to a gift from defending champions Inter Milan. At the heart of it all was a Scottish player who scored twice and set a new record.
SSC Napoli received good news on matchday 33 of Serie A, hours before their home game against FC Turin. The reigning champions Inter Milan, who would face Napoli in a play-off on neutral ground if the two teams were level on points at the end of the season, slipped up with a 0-1 defeat to Roma.
But one thing was also clear: coach Antonio Conte’s team, which had recently recorded a hard-fought 1-0 win at bottom-placed Monza, had to take advantage of the opportunity.
However, the Partenopei took the game against Torino, coached by Paolo Vanoli and defeated only twice in their last 16 games, very seriously and with determination from the start.
McTominay scores first and second
The southern Italians pinned the northerners deep in their own half from the first minute, with Lukaku (2nd) and Zambo Anguissa (3rd) getting in on the action early. Four minutes later, the ball was in the net after a nice build-up play involving Lorenzo and Zambo Anguissa, who found McTominay in the center, and he finished with ice-cold precision. The Scot, who has long since become a fan favorite in Naples since his transfer from Manchester United last summer, wasn’t done yet.
And so, after a bit of a lull and some early approaches from Turin through Adams (11th minute), Leipzig’s loan player and former Napoli man Elmas, and Biraghi (both 20th minute), McTominay made it 2-0 before the break. The midfielder was once again quicker than his opponents in the center of the penalty area and this time finished coolly after a pass from Politano (41′).
The 28-year-old international has now scored 11 goals in 30 appearances in Serie A this season. That’s a record: no Scottish player has ever scored so many goals in a single season in Italy’s top flight.
How fitting: Denis Law had previously achieved the same feat for FC Turin – this time’s opponents – in 1961/62, when the Scot scored ten goals in a Serie A season.
Billing misses the third
The rest is quickly told: throughout the second half, the action splashed around under the constant cheers of the home fans. There was hardly any action in front of goal – almost: SSC substitute Billing hit the crossbar from close range (62′) and missed the decisive 3-0. But even so, it was enough for a comfortable home win, because Torino, stuck in no man’s land, achieved almost nothing up front on this evening.
This puts the Neapolitans in first place, now three points ahead of champions Inter. The exciting race continues as follows: Conte’s team has an away game at US Lecce on Saturday (6 p.m.). And after the first leg of the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, Inter has a home game against Hellas on Saturday (8:45 p.m.).
