Napoli extended their Serie A lead after beating fierce Como 3-1; Verona wins

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Scottish midfielder Scott McTominay scored 25 seconds into the match and Napoli beat Como 3-1 to secure top spot in Serie A on Friday.

Antonio Conte’s men are four points behind Juventus, although the second-place side have a game in hand and could close the gap against Cagliari on Saturday.

Napoli wasted no time in taking the lead as McTominay scored his second goal in three games.

Como were slow to get into the game and Gabriel Strefezza equalized two minutes before the break with a low strike into the bottom corner. It was the first goal Napoli had conceded since 31 August.

Romelu Lukaku put Napoli ahead again from the penalty spot eight minutes into the second half before his breakthrough pass allowed substitute David Neres to score a third goal under Como goalkeeper Emil Audero four minutes from time.

Napoli struggled at times, particularly in the first half, but the victory matched their good start to the season. They have lost only one of their eight official matches and have scored 14 goals in their last five matches.

Newly promoted Como remains in tenth place.

A late goal brought victory to Verona

A late own goal from Jesse Joronen gave Verona a 2-1 win over Venice.

Gaetano Oristanio gave Venice a 1-0 lead in the second minute when he took advantage of poor marking from a corner kick to head home the far post.

However, the home side responded seven minutes later when Danish striker Kasper Tengstedt finished off a spectacular volley to equalize.

Verona scored the winning goal nine minutes before the end of the match when goalkeeper Joronen headed Grigoris Kastanos into his own net.