Until now, Napoli have pretty much risen to every challenge this season as they aim to win the Scudetto for the first time since 1990.
They sit top of the Serie A table after 10 games and are one of just two teams to not lose a game, with Luciano Spalletti's men already beating Lazio and Milan away from home.
While their past three league games – wins over Torino, Cremonese and Bologna – would have always been expected to yield Napoli victories, a slightly trickier run begins this weekend.
Before the break for the World Cup, Napoli still have to face Rangers and Liverpool in the Champions League, plus high-flying Udinese, second-placed Atalanta, Sassuolo and, first up, Jose Mourinho's in-form Roma in Serie A.
Sunday's trip to the capital poses a real threat to a historic achievement that is…
… within touching distance
While Napoli's Champions League exploits – hammering Liverpool, Rangers and Ajax, twice – have attracted plenty of praise, the true extent of their form doesn't appear to have really registered outside of Italy yet.
However, they are undeniably on a remarkable run across all competitions.
Napoli have won each of their past 10 matches, meaning they are just one victory away from equalling the longest such run in the club's history.
That 11-game winning streak was recorded between April and September 1986, the Diego Maradona era.
Although the run ended in September, that was still the season Napoli won their first Scudetto.
Kvaradona
Napoli may not have a player of Maradona's ilk this time, though supporters have certainly taken to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The Georgia winger only joined in pre-season, but his impact has been phenomenal.
Already he has been involved in 13 goals in 14 appearances in all competitions, which is more than any other Serie A player.
He heads into the weekend on a particularly effective run, too, having registered one assist in each of his past four games. The last Napoli player to have a better run (five games) was club great Lorenzo Insigne in early 2016.
The 'Kvaradona' nickname is seemingly here to stay.
Napoli's versatile arsenal
As good as Kvaratskhelia has been for Napoli this term, it wouldn't be fair to say they're completely dependent on him.
In fact, the Partenopei have earned themselves a reputation for being adaptable and versatile.
For starters, they've had 15 different scorers in Serie A this season, which is the joint-most with Bayern Munich across the big five leagues.
And on top of that, Napoli's 35 goals from set-pieces (including penalties) since the start of last season is more than any other Serie A team.
Omens on Napoli's side?
Mourinho has Roma in good shape. They're fourth in Serie A and go into the weekend having won each of their past three league games – they last managed four successive top-flight wins in August 2020.
But their recent record – for what it's worth – against Napoli is pretty poor, having only won one of their previous eight Serie A meetings, a 2-1 victory in November 2019.
On top of that, Roma are winless in their past 12 home league games against teams in the top four at the beginning of the matchday, losing the three most recent examples.
A Roma win will put them just a point behind Napoli, however. Regardless of the latter's fine start to the season, they won't be expecting a straightforward contest.
Kris Doolan insists Partick Thistle will not sit back in second leg
Kris Doolan insists Partick Thistle will go for goals again in their cinch Premiership play-off final second leg after their 2-0 win over 10-man Ross County at Firhill.
Jags winger Aidan Fitzpatrick opened the scoring in the ninth minute before 16-year-old Staggies defender Dylan Smith was sent off by referee David Munro eight minutes later for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, after the official upgraded a yellow card to red following the intervention of the VAR Andrew Dallas.
Striker Brian Graham volleyed in a second for the Championship outfit just before the break to give them the advantage for the return game in Dingwall.
Boss Doolan said: “It was a brilliant win for us – but it could have been more.
“If you’d offered us 2-0 before the game, we would obviously have taken your hand off. But it could have been more. To me, it maybe should have been more.
“Part of that is down to Ross County defending well and throwing their bodies on the line.
“Their goalie also made a good save at the end to tip one on to the bar. If we had managed to get a third, it might well have been a different game.
“But we know it’s not over. There’s still another game to be played on Sunday. We only have one way of playing – and we will go out and look to do the same in Dingwall.
“We know that if we can go there and win the game, we will be back in the Premiership.”
Staggies boss Malky Mackay was happy to leave Glasgow only two goals down and retains belief for the second leg.
He said: “We started fairly brightly and created a couple of half chances.
“But we lost a bad goal. It was a great strike from Fitzpatrick but poor defending from our lads that were out facing it.
“I thought we were doing okay at that point but then we lost young Dylan.
“He’s a great kid and has been terrific in his first season as a pro but in retrospect he’s nicked the boy and it was a sending off.
“That obviously gives us a mountain to climb.
“We then lose the goal just before half-time and when I got the boys back inside, I said to them the challenge was to make sure we come out here no worse than two-down.
“I didn’t want us to sink in to our own penalty box as that would have just been carnage. So to see us threaten them a few times was what I needed.
“Second half I was really proud of them and at only two-down, there is plenty to play for on Sunday.”
Partick Thistle hold upper hand after first-leg victory over Ross County
Partick Thistle are in the box seat for a return to the cinch Premiership following their 2-0 play-off final first leg win over 10-man Ross County at Firhill.
Jags winger Aidan Fitzpatrick opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a terrific strike before 16-year-old Staggies defender Dylan Smith was sent off by referee David Munro eight minutes later for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, after the official upgraded a yellow card to red following the intervention of the VAR Andrew Dallas.
In front of 7,291 fans, Thistle’s 35-year-old striker Brian Graham volleyed in a second for the Championship outfit just before the break to take his season tally to 21 and the home side could and should have scored more against a team a man down for most of the game.
However, Kris Doolan’s inventive side – now unbeaten in 11 games – will travel to Dingwall for the second leg on Sunday, buoyed with confidence while Malky Mackay’s men must dig deep if they are to retain their top-flight status.
Thistle, the first club to reach a Premiership play-off final after finishing fourth in the second tier, exploded into the game.
Winger Steve Lawless’s drive after skipping past Smith was saved by Staggies keeper Ross Laidlaw for a corner which he held.
However, the home side were soon ahead.
Fitzpatrick took a crossfield pass from Lawless, nipped in between Victor Loturi and Owura Edwards and from 16 yards curled the ball past Laidlaw into the far corner of the net before taking the acclaim of the fans.
More drama followed.
Smith was initially booked by Munro for fouling Fitzpatrick on the edge of the box as he attempted to race through on goal.
However, after going off to check the pitch side monitor – VAR was in operation for the first time at Firhill – the referee returned to flash a red and the visitors were down to 10 men, with defender Keith Watson immediately coming on for striker Alex Samuel before skipper Ross Docherty lifted the free-kick well over the bar.
In the 34th minute Graham connected with a Kyle Turner corner but Laidlaw was down smartly to save.
County edged forward as often as they could but they appeared susceptible to losing a second, with Graham thundering a drive over from the edge of the box.
The former Ross County and Dundee United forward was much more accurate from another Turner corner, volleying in from 12 yards to send the Glasgow side into the break on a high.
Ben Purrington replaced George Harmon, who had been booked, for the start of the second half as the Dingwall side looked to keep themselves in the tie but within minutes Thistle’s Kevin Holt had volleyed over the Staggies crossbar from eight yards.
Thistle then swarmed all over the visitors and should have added to their lead.
Graham had a goal-bound drive blocked for a corner by centre-back Jack Randall before Scott Tiffoney also saw his effort from inside the box hit County defender Connor Randall and then Laidlaw somehow kept out a close-range header from Graham.
County hinted at a threat occasionally and in the 64th minute Jags defender Aaron Muirhead brilliantly blocked a shot from Staggies forward Jordan White.
The Dingwall side pushed for a lifeline which never arrived, the home side finishing in control with substitute Danny Mullen cracking the bar with a powerful drive and they will surely travel to Dingwall on Sunday more in belief than hope.
PGMOL condemns ‘abhorrent’ abuse of referee Anthony Taylor at Budapest airport
Refereeing body PGMOL says it is appalled by “unjustified and abhorrent” abuse directed at Anthony Taylor after video footage emerged of him being accosted by angry fans at Budapest airport.
Taylor and his family can be seen trying to evade a mob, who were shouting at him as he travelled home after refereeing Wednesday night’s Europa League final between Roma and Sevilla in the Hungarian capital.
The Premier League official was criticised for his performance in the final by Roma boss Jose Mourinho during his post-match press conference after the Italian side lost on penalties to Sevilla.
And in video footage which later emerged on social media, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager is seen gesticulating at Taylor and officials in the stadium car park and heard saying “disgrace”.
Following the incident at the airport, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said in a statement on Thursday evening: “PGMOL is aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport.
“We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final.
“We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family.”
UEFA is awaiting Taylor’s reports before deciding whether to take action against Mourinho for his rant.
Taylor booked Mourinho during the game, which finished 1-1 after extra time before Sevilla sealed their seventh Europa League triumph by winning 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out.
Tempers simmered on and off the pitch in a disappointing final, with 13 players shown yellow cards, seven of them to Roma players, while fourth official Michael Oliver had his work cut out to keep control of both dug-outs.
The game was littered with delays, with a total of 25 minutes’ stoppage time added to the 120 minutes of playing time.
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