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Romelu Lukaku once again starred for Napoli, scoring a goal and assisting two more goals in Friday’s 3-1 win over Como, securing them top spot in Serie A for at least another week.
Belgian striker Lukaku set up Scott McTominay for his first goal in Italy’s top flight after just 25 seconds before scoring from the penalty spot seven minutes after half-time and bringing on David Neres, helping Napoli extend their league lead to four points.
Their fiercest rival Juventus can move within one point of Napoli with a home win against Cagliari on Sunday.
Lukaku has immediately settled in at Naples under Antonio Conte, scoring three goals in five league games while also providing four assists for a team that looks ready to challenge for the league title.
“We’re getting there. It will take some time because I was late. It’s thanks to my teammates, the coaching staff and the fans that we’re doing so well,” Lukaku told Sky.
Napoli didn’t have everything their way at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as they were hard pressed by newly promoted Como.
Cesc Fabregas’ side were deservedly level at the break thanks to a stunning long-range shot from Gabriel Strefezza, which fell just after Nico Paz had hit the woodwork.
And the game was firmly in the balance until Neres scored his second Napoli goal in the 86th minute after brilliantly sliding through from Lukaku.
Lukaku looks lighter on his feet than ever since his Serie A win with Inter Milan in 2021, and he also delivered a fine pass that helped Scot McTominay score his second Napoli goal after scoring in the Italian Cup last month also scored against Palermo.
Since moving to Napoli from Manchester United in the summer, McTominay has put in excellent performances and added a new dimension to the midfield of southern Italy’s biggest club.
“It was great to get off to a good start. It was a great ball. For me it’s obviously nice to score and then we lost a little bit of control in the first half and then we made a breakthrough at half time and it made a difference “McTominay said to Sky.
Napoli are unbeaten since being humiliated on the opening day of the season by Verona, who host Venezia in Friday’s late game.
And under Conte, Napoli look more like the team that won the Scudetto for a third time in 2023 than the disastrous team that failed to even qualify for European football as reigning champions last season.
“We just want to keep going game by game. We want to play football and hopefully win as many games as possible,” McTominay added.
“The boys did a great job helping me get used to it. Game by game, no one pays attention to the next game anymore.”
Como, backed by Indonesian tobacco giant Djarum, are in 10th place with eight points after an encouraging start to their first Serie A season in 21 years.
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