The title race in Italy is starting to heat up – with Scott McTominay of Napoli a huge catalyst in Antonio Conte’s side racing for the Scudetto.
Defending champions Inter Milan continue to lead the way after their 3-1 win over Cagliari on Saturday and that required a response from Napoli on Monday night.
Antonio Conte’s side would do so in style as Napoli defeated Empoli 3-0 to keep the gap at the top of Serie A to just three points with six games remaining, with the Naples-based club having an easier run-in than their title rivals.
One man who is set to have a big impact in the remaining games Napoli have is Scott McTominay and the Scottish star showed that with his display on Monday night.
Italian media react to impressive Scott McTominay display
McTominay made the decision to move to Napoli last summer from Manchester United having spent his entire career at Old Trafford, which looks like it is paying off for the 28-year-old.
The Scottish star impressed on Monday night for the Naples club against Empoli with the midfielder netting a brace on the way to the 3-0 win.
The Italian media were left impressed with what McTominay produced against Empoli with La Gazetta dello Sport heaping praise on the former Man United star after the full-time whistle.
“Mr. McTominay knows what to say, how to say it and when to say it and having recently gone out on a limb, to demonstrate that words and actions often coincide, he took Napoli and forcefully dragged them (again) behind Inter,” the Italian outlet wrote.
“A ground-to-ground missile in the 19th minute, an imperious leap in the 16th minute of the second half, and with a brace to which Lukaku added something of his own, he let the Scudetto hang in the air.”
La Gazetta dello Sport also gave McTominay an eight out of 10 rating for his performance on Monday night with the Italian newspaper stating that the Scottish star danced and tore through Empoli.
McTominay would also receive an eight out of ten from Sky Sport Italia, with the outlet crowning the 28-year-old as the game’s Man of the Match.
How has Scott McTominay performed since leaving Man United
McTominay was often labelled not good enough to play for Man United but fans of the Red Devils loved the midfielder as he always gave it his all.
This is the reason Fulham wanted to keep McTominay in the Premier League, but the Scotland international opted to move to Italy, where he is having a big impact.
McTominay has been a key member of Conte’s squad and has featured in 30 games for Napoli this season, producing nine goals and four assists to his teammates throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
Following Monday night’s brace, McTominay is now the midfielder who has broken the deadlock the most times in this Serie A with five goals. In general, only Moise Kean and Mateo Retegui (seven each), Artem Dovbyk and Lorenzo Lucca (six both) have done it more in the competition.
The former Man United star is very likely to continue impressing in Italy as the midfielder is a workhorse and he will hope to be rewarded for his efforts with the Serie A title at the end of the season.