ROME -- The Serie A title race heated up last week-end as a resurgent Napoli spearheaded by Scots wizard midfielder Scott McTominay almost surpassed Inter Milan for the top spot. Meanwhile a derby at the Olympic Stadium resulted in an unsatisfactory draw for Lazio and Roma. Napoli continued their strong form by thrashing Empoli 3-0 Monday.

 Former Roma forward Lukaku assisted a brilliant first goal by former Manchester United star Mctominay who went on the attack from the halfway line to score from outside the box in the 17th minute. It was then Lukaku’s turn to be assisted by Mctominay to take Napoli to 2-0 in the 55th minute of the second half. The winning partnership came to fruition in the 0th minute with Mctominay heading into goal a cross from Lukaku to take the team to 3-0.

 McTominay almost made it a hatrick in the 66th minute but was denied by the goalpost from another cracker from outside the box. This leaves Napoli just 3 points short of recovering the coveted top spot occupied by Inter Milan.

 Inter Milan had their own share of the success over the weekend with a 3-1 win over Cagliari. Inter dominated the match with 68 percent possession and were up by a goal in the 13th minute thanks to Austrian virtuoso Marko Arnautović’s forceful play through the Cagliari defence in the box. Lauro Martinez then doubled Inter’s lead in the 25th minute by outpacing Cagliari’s defenders and chipping the ball past the goalie after a wonderful assist from Arnautović. Roberto Piccoli gave Cagliari a chance to hope after finding the back of the net with a strong header in the early stages of the second half. But all such hope was lost when Yann Bisseck's header from a corner brought Inter ahead to the final 3-1 score. Inter will be happy with this win which keeps them at the top of the table. Cagliari will be concerned that the loss leaves then just 6 points above relegation.

 In Rome tensions were high as the infamous derby took place on Sunday evening. In the run up to the game Lazio fans clashed with the police in violent scenes in Ponte Milvio which resulted in a water hose and tear gas being deployed to clear the piazza. A tough match followed with neither side dominating the other.

 In the first half, Lazio kept up the pressure on Rome with three strikes on goal denied by Roma goalie Mile Svilar who would go on to win player of the match. Lazio’s efforts paid off in the 47th minute with a header from childhood Lazio fan Alessio Romagnoli. As if given the motivation they needed, Roma then began to perform better for the rest of the match.

 Argentinian Matias Soule gave a moment of magic to Roma fans after scoring a belter from outside the box. His first time strike from outside the penalty area hit the crossbar before landing over the line and bouncing out again. Confrontations between the players dominated the match as the two historical enemies fought out an unrelenting game. Lazio remain above Roma after the win at 6th on the table to Roma’s 7th. Roma will be still hoping for a top five finish to join the Champions league.

 Further north Atalanta broke from a dire three game losing streak to secure a 2-0 home victory against fifth placed Bologna. This moved the recently struggling Bergamo team back to third position.

 With only six weeks left of the Serie A season, the competition has narrowed to a two horse race between Inter and Napoli.

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