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• Conte embracing Napoli improvements after Como triumph

  Antonio Conte is embracing Napoli's recent run of form after they extended their lead at the Serie A summit to four points ahead of the international break. 

  Scott McTominay's early opener was cancelled out by Gabriel Strefezza, only for star man Romelu Lukaku and substitute David Neres to seal the win after the break. 

  Conte is now the sixth manager to have won each of his first four home games as Napoli head coach in Serie A, after Paolo Iodice, Luis Vinicio, Alberto Bigon, Carlo Ancelotti and Luciano Spalletti.

  The Italian, however, started his Napoli reign with a shock 3-0 defeat to Hellas Verona on the opening day, but his team have since gone seven games unbeaten, scoring 19 goals during that run. 

  Conte acknowledged that his side may not deserve to be at the top of the table, but felt quietly optimistic about his players' progression during the early stages of his tenure.

  "I don't know if this is currently a Napoli that deserves to be in first place in the standings, but we are first and that is a fact," Conte said to DAZN.

  "If someone had told me this three months ago, it would have been difficult to believe.

  "We're growing in terms of temperament, and in our ability to adapt—playing good football, but also willing to get our hands dirty when we need to.

  "That's a great sign, and we have to embrace it fully."

  But the encounter against Como was far from comfortable for Conte's side, with the visitors registering 11 shots compared to Napoli's nine, while Cesc Fabregas' men also ended the contest with 59.3% possession. 

  Napoli, though, created the better chances, ending the encounter with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.02 from their six efforts on target, with Lukaku continuing to flourish under Conte's stewardship. 

  McTominay's opening goal after 26 seconds was the third-quickest for Napoli in the three-points-per-game era, while the former Manchester United midfielder also became the first Scottish player to score for Gli Azzurri in Serie A. 

  "We started well in the first half, scoring a great goal, the result of our hard work," Conte said.

  "Then we changed things tactically in the second half, and they were no longer in the game.

  "We lost too many duels, but that's part of the process of rebuilding confidence and self-esteem."

  Conte also showered praise on the home supporters inside the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. 

  "Playing in Naples, at the Maradona, with a full stadium means that the players can really feel the crowd's emotions," he said. 

  If you make mistakes, you can feel the disappointment, and that can chip away at your confidence.

  "Napoli has a deep passion for football. We try to feed that passion by giving our all, like we did today. In the second half, we improved from every point of view."

• Sunderland 2-2 Leeds: Meslier howler gifts Black Cats a point

  Illan Meslier's last-gasp error saw Sunderland snatch a point against Leeds at the Stadium of Light on Friday. 

  The home supporters were sent into raptures by one of their own in the ninth minute when Chris Rigg opened the scoring, tucking home from close range after Meslier had produced a miraculous save to deny Dennis Cirkin's previous effort.

  But Sunderland's joy was short-lived when Joel Piroe headed Wilfried Gnonto's inviting delivery beyond Anthony Patterson, though replays showed he may have wandered into an offside position. 

  Both sides continued to push for a half-time lead, with Brenden Aaronson seeing his shot cleared off the line and Patrick Roberts seeing his effort saved to end a pulsating half of action. 

  The hosts emerged from the tunnel in the ascendency but were met with a sucker punch in the 56th minute when Junior Firpo's driving run from deep ended with the left-back sweeping the ball into the far corner. 

  But with the clock ticking into the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time, there was to be one final twist when Alan Browne's flicked pass into the box somehow evaded the grasp of Meslier to preserve Sunderland's unbeaten home record this season. 

  Data Debrief: Meslier blunder overshadows Leeds display

  Leeds were moments away from going level on points with Sunderland at the summit of the Championship, before a moment of madness sealed a gut-wrenching end to an enthralling encounter in the North East. 

  The visitors ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.16 from their 15 shots compared to Sunderland's 1.77, with Piroe contributing 0.72 xG to Leeds' tally. 

  But their display was overshadowed by Meslier's blunder, with the Frenchman enjoying a strong performance up until that point, making three saves against the Black Cats. 

• Colorado Rapids v Seattle Sounders: Armas eyeing top four finish despite Galaxy setback

  Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas believes his side can break into the top four of the Western Conference ahead of facing the Seattle Sounders this weekend.

  The Rapids currently occupy sixth in the standings and have already qualified for the playoffs, but are just three points behind Real Salt Lake in fourth.

  Armas’ side have won just one of their last four MLS fixtures, though, with their latest defeat coming at the hands of the LA Galaxy, despite Connor Ronan scoring the opener.

  “We are looking forward to Saturday. We’re looking forward to getting right back out there on the pitch here at home in our quest for a top four finish,” Armas said.

  “That’s what is on our minds right now. We’re looking forward to Seattle coming here, another top team.

  “I’m really proud of my team and how they are going for it. We knew we were facing a really good team who are in first place. It was not the result we wanted, but that is football when you play good teams, the margins are thin, and it is a game we can learn from.”

  Seattle, meanwhile, come into the encounter brimming with confidence having now gone five games unbeaten, most recently sweeping aside 10-man Vancouver Whitecaps away from home.

  The Sounders are three points ahead of this weekend’s opponents but know a victory is a must if they are to remain in the top four ahead of the playoffs.

  With just two games left of the regular season, head coach Brian Schmetzer was not worried about the workload on his players, insisting rotation could be required this weekend.

  “If you look at the calendar and you see after this next game, we have a week off before we play Portland, so the team that is playing extended minutes is going to have plenty of opportunity to recover,” Schmetzer said.

  “We’re going to go to Colorado and make sure we don’t put anybody at an injury risk and put a strong team out against a very good side.

  “Then we’ll play out the rest of the season how we see fit.”

  BIG ROAD DUB pic.twitter.com/Dkl4MRKVvX

  — Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) October 3, 2024

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic

  Mihailovic’s assist on Wednesday took him to 23 goal contributions this season (11 goals, 12 assists), equalling the single-season club record set by Diego Rubio in 2022.

  The American is the only player in Rapids history with at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season.

  Seattle Sounders - Albert Rusnak

  Rusnak scored a goal and recorded two assists in Seattle’s win over Vancouver.

  It marked the third time in his last 11 regular season appearances that Rusnak had a goal and an assist in a match after not doing so in any of his previous 93 appearances dating back to 2021.

  MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

  The Sounders have recorded 22 regular season wins over the Rapids, more than against any other team since they joined the MLS in 2009. In fact, the only MLS team with more regular season wins over a single opponent in that time is Real Salt Lake, also against Colorado (24).

  Including their victory over Vancouver, the Sounders have won 11 of their last 15 regular season matches (D2 L2). This is the third different campaign in which Seattle has won 11 or more times in a 15-game span in league play, joining 2011 and 2018.

  Colorado come into the game off the back of a 3-1 defeat to LA Galaxy, their first such result on home soil in 10 matches. It was the first time the Rapids lost a home match by multiple goals since a 3-1 defeat to Nashville SC in May 2022.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Colorado Rapids – 35.1%

  Draw – 26%

  Seattle Sounders – 39%