The Japan Times - Inter downed by Roma, McTominay fires Napoli to top of Serie A

No fixtures were played on Friday or Saturday because of the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, meaning the full round of Serie A matches take place on Sunday and Monday.

Matias Soule's first-half strike for Roma knocked Inter off top spot earlier in the day before new tabletoppers Napoli opened up a three-point buffer with victory in Sunday's late kick-off.

"Three defeats in one week hurts, and we're not used to such a run," said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.

"It was a very important game, but we lacked a clear head. We need to try and get our energy back, and we'll go to Barcelona with a lot of respect for this team, but without fear."

Argentinian Soule stunned the San Siro when he slotted home coolly as the ball ping-ponged around the Inter box in the 22nd minute.

The win moved Roma up to sixth place on 60 points, two off the final Champions League spot.

In another blow for Inter, they risk being without defender Benjamin Pavard for their upcoming Champions League semi-final first leg against Barcelona after the French international limped off in the 15th minute with an ankle issue.

McTominay lit the blue touch paper in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona when he ghosted in at the near post to turn Napoli into the lead on seven minutes against Torino.

The former Manchester United midfielder repeated the trick four minutes before the break to send Napoli clear at the top of Serie A on 74 points.

The brace brough McTominay's league total to 11 goals, one behind Napoli's leading scorer Romelu Lukaku.

- Juve go fourth -

Juventus moved into the fourth and final Champions League qualification spot with a 2-0 victory at home to basement-club Monza.

First-half strikes from Nicolas Gonzalez and Randal Kolo Muani took the Old Lady to 62 points.

But Juventus will likely be without exciting Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz for their next two fixtures after the 19-year-old was sent off for violent conduct at the end of the first period.

Third-placed Atalanta were held to a surprise 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Lecce, dragging Gian Piero Gasperini's side further into the dogfight for Champions League football next season.

Mateo Retegui extended his lead at the top of the goalscoring charts from the penalty spot as his 69th-minute spot-kick cancelled out Jesper Karlsson's first-half opener from 12 yards in Bergamo.

Fiorentina kept their European qualification hopes alive with a 2-1 victory against struggling Empoli.

Goals from Yacine Adli and Rolando Mandragora put the hosts in control inside the opening half-hour, before Jacopo Fazzini gave the 19th-placed side faint hopes of picking up some much-needed points in the 57th minute.

The Tuscany-based club sit in eighth place on 59 points, five ahead of Milan who beat lowly Venezia 2-0.

Christian Pulisic opened the scoring for Milan in the fifth minute with Santiago Gimenez sealing the victory in the sixth minute of added time at the end of the game.

Milan, who qualified for the Italian Cup final on Wednesday by eliminating bitter city rivals Inter, remain in ninth place.

Venezia stay third from bottom in the relegation zone, two points behind Lecce in safety.

Brazilian forward Gabriel Strefezza scored the only goal as Como beat Genoa 1-0 in the duel between former Arsenal players-turned-coaches Cesc Fabregas and Patrick Vieira.

S.Fujimoto--JT