McTominay propels Napoli to Serie A lead over Inter with 2-0 defeat of Torino

ROME -- Napoli took over the lead again in the last stage of the Serie A standings Sunday after thrashing Torino 2-0 with both goals scored by Scots virtuoso Scott McTominay who has spearheaded the Neapolitans’ thrust ahead of second placed Inter, which is now standing at just 71 points after being upset by Roma 1-0.
Rome’s victory over Inter confirmed Inter’s third consecutive loss without scoring a goal. This follows Inter’s 3-0 loss to local rivals AC Milan in the Italian Cup semifinal and a 1-0 defeat to currently fifth placed Bologna last week.
McTominay continued his magic touch for Napoli against Torino on Sunday and took home man of the match. Former United player Scott, aside from becoming a key Napoli scorer, has also found a new passion for Italian cuisine, being quoted as calling British tomatoes “red water” compared to those grown in the region of his new club. Napoli will be hoping this new found sustenance will help propel them to Serie A winners with only four rounds left to play, all in theory against low-ranked clubs that Napoli should have little difficulty in defeating.
Roma’s Argentinian midfielder Matias Soulé redirected a deflection to score a stunning goal in the first half. Whilst Inter managed to dominate possession Roma continued with several on-goal strikes on the counterattack. This continues Roma’s 18th undefeated match in Serie A, not having lost a game since December. Roma now sits sixth in the table, with level points to Bologna’s fifth place.
This was Roma coach Ranieri’s last professional appearance at San Siro, “I've already handed in my coaching license,” Ranieri said with a smile. Ranieri, 73, will retire at the end of the season.
All fixtures were played on Sunday due to Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday April 26. A moment of silence was held before all of Sunday’s matches out of respect for the late pope.
AC Milan enjoyed a good weekend, with Christian Pulisic scoring for the first time in more than a month to help propel the team to 2-0 against Venezia.
The Rossoneri have turned their fortunes around after winning against Inter in the Cup but remain in an unusually low ninth place.Juventus were forced to play with ten men for the second half of their encounter against bottom of the league Monza.
Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz was sent off in the first half for elbowing Monza midfielder Alessandro Bianco in the face. In turn he will be facing a likely two match ban. This leaves Juventus at a disadvantage for their upcoming testing fixtures against Lazio and Bologna.
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