Scott McTominay’s fine form continued on Saturday as his second-half header sealed a narrow 1-0 win for Napoli against a determined Monza side battling relegation in Serie A.
The victory saw Antonio Conte’s men temporarily draw level on points with current table-toppers Inter, pending the outcome of Sunday’s clash between Inter and Bologna.
McTominay rose highest in the 72nd minute to connect with a beautifully lofted delivery from Giacomo Raspadori at the corner of the box, nodding home what proved to be the match-winner.
Monza showed resilience in the opening 45 minutes, with Pedro Pereira going close during a spell when Napoli struggled to assert themselves.
However, the visitors took charge after the break, and McTominay’s breakthrough marked his ninth goal in the league this season.
Now sitting second, Napoli will be keeping a close eye on Bologna’s performance, hoping they can take points off defending champions Inter.
McTominay’s sensational debut Serie A season shows no signs of slowing down. Not only has the Scotland international scored nine goals this season, but six of them have been the first of the match, making him the player to have broken the deadlock most often in Serie A.
The midfielder led the match for total shots (three) and shots on target (two). His goal-scoring prowess also places him in exclusive company, he became only the second Napoli midfielder, alongside Marek Hamsik, to score nine or more goals from midfield since they were promoted to the top flight in 2007-08.
Though Napoli had more efforts in the first half, registering 11 shots and an xG of 0.84, it was their second-half efficiency, five attempts producing 0.46 xG, that ultimately made the difference.
