Napoli should be considered favourites to win the Champions League after dominating Serie A this season, according to Milan great Ruud Gullit.
Luciano Spalletti's dynamic Napoli side have been one of the stories of the European season, boasting a 15-point lead at the Serie A summit after losing just once in their first 23 league games.
The Partenopei have also excelled in the Champions League, top-scoring in the group stage with 20 goals to finish above Liverpool and tee up a last-16 tie with Eintracht Frankfurt.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of Napoli's trip to Germany for the first leg of that tie, Gullit suggested Europe's elite clubs may struggle to match Spalletti's men.
"In a television broadcast I said that they are the favourites to win the Champions League. I haven't changed my mind," the former Netherlands international said of Napoli.
"They play a style of football that we all like to see; fast, rapid and vertical.
"The English clubs are strong, the same for Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid are capable of crazy feats, but this Napoli team are totally different."
Napoli's last Scudetto came in the 1989-90 season, when Diego Maradona inspired them to edge a hard-fought title race against a legendary Milan side featuring Gullit.
Asked about the differences between Napoli teams past and present, Gullit said: "That team depended on Diego. This is a complete team, which expresses total football. They can win the Scudetto and go far in Europe."
Gullit's former employers Milan are also looking to mount a challenge in Europe, having beaten Tottenham 1-0 in the first leg of their own round-of-16 tie.
Having recently endured a seven-game winless run, Milan sit fourth in Serie A and trail Napoli by 18 points, but Gullit refuses to write the Rossoneri off.
"They are fighting and suffering," he said of Stefano Pioli's men. "Up to now, everything hasn't been as easy as it was last year.
"In this first part of the season things have been more difficult than everyone expected, but in football you never know. In the Champions League they won the first leg of the round of 16 against Tottenham. Let's see how it ends."
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Gasperini plays down Atalanta Scudetto talk despite Napoli rout
Gian Piero Gasperini played down talk of Atalanta competing for the Scudetto despite their 3-0 humbling of Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday.
Atalanta triumphed 3-0 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with Ademola Lookman scoring a first-half brace before Mateo Retegui made the points safe for La Dea.
They are now up to third in the table, just three points behind leaders Napoli and two adrift of reigning champions Inter in second.
Gasperini's team have been tipped to challenge for the title after inflicting Antonio Conte's first three-goal defeat in a home Serie A match since 2009, but he is simply taking things one game at a time.
"There are still 27 matches to go, and if you see Atalanta as winning the Scudetto I respect your opinion," he told reporters.
"However all the games are different, I don't know if we will always manage to have such a strong structure.
"If we manage to widen the circle a bit with other players we will progress but we will see further on."
Gasperini added integrating Atalanta's new players will be key, given the rigours of combining a title push with a potential Champions League run.
"The core of the team is very strong because last year we faced the Europa League and secured a Champions League spot, playing every three days," he said.
"We lost Koop [Teun Koopmeiners] but we've brought in several players, with Retegui adapting the quickest.
"How well we can integrate these new players will determine our competitiveness."
Vice-captain Marten de Roon echoed those sentiments, saying: "Our team achieved a great result, we showed that we are at a high level.
"We are not thinking about the Scudetto yet, it is a word very far from our objective. We must remain humble; at the end of the championship we will see where we get to.
"We have a very clear way of playing, always pressing high to keep the attackers high."
Inzaghi urges Nerazzurri improvements ahead of Arsenal, Napoli clashes
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi acknowledged his side need to be more ruthless in front of goal following their Serie A win over Venezia, with matches against Arsenal and Napoli coming up.
Lautaro Martinez's first home goal in league action since February handed the Nerazzurri a hard-fought 1-0 win at San Siro, though they missed several chances to make their victory more comfortable.
Inzaghi's team racked up 20 shots worth 2.41 expected goals (xG) to Venezia's seven attempts and 1.07 xG during Sunday's game.
They have now scored in each of their 28 league games at San Siro after failing to net in three in a row between March and April 2023, but Inzaghi knows they must take their chances when they face Arsenal and Napoli this week.
"We should’ve been more clinical, but to be honest, I congratulated the team because the first half was excellent even if we wasted big opportunities," he told DAZN.
"Once we broke the deadlock, the big regret is that we didn’t kill off the game and when it is in the balance, anything can still happen."
Arsenal visit San Siro in the Champions League on Wednesday, before Napoli – who are currently one point clear at the top of Serie A – make the trip on Sunday.
"In two days we are up against one of the best teams in Europe with huge quality, so clearly my focus right now is on Arsenal," Inzaghi said.
The 48-year-old expressed concern about the challenging schedule ahead but felt relieved after seeing key players return.
"This is our fifth game in two weeks, there are another two to come against Arsenal and Napoli, but we’ve got Hakan Calhanoglu back and Francesco Acerbi will be available on Wednesday too," he said.
"Carlos Augusto is the only one still out and as a coach I will need everyone."
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