Related items

• Napoli 3-1 Como: Lukaku and McTominay on target to extend hosts' Serie A lead

  Romelu Lukaku continued his fine start to life at Napoli as the Belgian notched a goal and two assists in his side's 3-1 win over Como on Friday. 

  The hosts found themselves ahead with just 26 seconds on the clock when Scott McTominay was picked out by Lukaku, with the Scotland international firing home his first goal for Gli Azzurri off the post. 

  But Como would draw themselves level two minutes before the break when Gabriel Strefezza's strike from distance rifled into the bottom corner. 

  However, Antonio Conte's side needed just eight minutes after the interval to restore their advantage when Sergi Roberto brought down Mathias Olivera in the box, with Lukaku stepping up from 12 yards to net his fourth Serie A goal of the season. 

  Napoli continued to push for a third goal to secure the victory, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia going closest but saw his effort saved by Emil Audero. 

  But the points were sealed in the 86th minute when Lukaku turned provider once again, holding off his marker before slipping through substitute David Neres who slotted home with a fine finish to extend Napoli's lead at the top of the standings to four points. 

  Data Debrief: Lukaku continues Conte love story

  Lukaku has been a player reborn under Conte's stewardship. The Belgian is the player who has been involved in the most goals in his first five appearances for Napoli in Serie A since the Italian top-flight returned to 20 teams (since 2004/05) with three goals and four assists. 

  He has also managed to better his assist tally for the whole of last season, managing just three in 32 appearances for Roma last term. 

  McTominay's goal after 26 seconds is the third-fastest scored by Napoli since the start of a Serie A match in the three points for a win era, after Hirving Lozano's goal against Hellas Verona in 2021 (nine seconds) and Ezequiel Lavezzi's goal against Genoa in 2008 (25 seconds).

• Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to compete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal

  Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea "are not ready" to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.

  The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.

  They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.

  So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.

  However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea's recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.

  "I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.

  "I really don't think that, because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.

  "After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League] they asked Luis Enrique, and he said the same thing, that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and [PSG] only a year and a half.

  "Imagine us, only three months… so it's a huge difference. So, I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."

  Before Maresca's appointment, Mauricio Pochettino only spent a season at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter before him was only in the position for just under seven months.

  After another busy transfer window for Chelsea saw them bring in 13 players, Maresca has urged for patience as they continue to find their footing in the early stages of his tenure.

  "The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.

  “There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”

  Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at home on Sunday in their final match before the international break. 

• Arsenal boss Arteta praises 'unbelievable' Havertz

  Mikel Arteta hailed Kai Havertz as "unbelievable" after the Germany international's star turn against Paris Saint-Germain.

  The 25-year-old put Arsenal on the path to a 2-0 home win over PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday with a well-timed run and header in the 20th minute.

  After taking 10 games to get off the mark for Arsenal last season, it was his fifth goal for the club in the 2024-25 campaign and he was deservedly named Player of the Match.

  Havertz got both of his two shots on target, while also playing one key pass as he scored just his second goal in his last 14 Champions League appearances, with his other goal coming for Arsenal in November 2023 against Lens.

  "He has been unbelievable. His football brain, the way he understands space, his timing, he brings people together," said Arteta.

  "His work ethic is incredible and now he is a real threat around the box. He is one of our main players at the moment."

  It was a satisfying night for Arteta, whose team dominated one of Europe's heavyweights in the first half and then comfortably contained them after the break, with Bukayo Saka doubling the Gunners' tally before half-time.

  Saka has now been directly involved in eight goals in six home Champions League appearances for Arsenal, with all five of his goals coming at the Emirates. In Champions League history, only three players have more goals with all coming at one stadium – Diogo Rincon at NSK Olimpijs'kyj, Esteban Cambiasso at the San Siro and Lee Bowyer at Elland Road (six goals each).

  "Really, really happy with the performance. We played an opponent that has a lot of personality, is really difficult to deal with when you don't have the ball," he said.

  "The first half was very dominant and we created a lot of chances and then the second half was a different story.

  "We suffered much more than we should have done. The Champions League brings different demands but I think we handled it really well."

  Victory, following the 0-0 draw away to Atalanta, propelled Arsenal to eighth in the 36-team table and Arteta said it was far too early to start predicting how many more wins his side will need to qualify automatically for the last 16.

  "I'm not even looking at the table," he said. "But I think it will be a long journey."

  Another boost for Arsenal was the sight of new signing Mikel Merino coming off the bench for his first appearance in the second half after missing the start of the season with injury.

  On the downside, full-back Jurrien Timber was forced off at half-time with a muscle issue.

  "He was unbelievable in the first half, but he felt something muscular and he wasn't certain," Arteta said of the Dutchman.

  "So I didn't want to take any risks. He's been out for a year and he's played a lot of minutes, probably more minutes than we would have wanted in the past few weeks."

  The Gunners' defensive grit was also on show. Arsenal have kept 17 clean sheets in 32 games in all competitions in 2024, the most of any Premier League side. Indeed, across Europe's big-five leagues this year, only Real Madrid have kept more (18).