Napoli coach Antonio Conte heaped praise on Romelu Lukaku after he scored and provided two assists in their dominant 4-0 victory at Cagliari on Sunday.
Lukaku was reunited with his former Inter boss Conte, under whom he scored 24 goals as the Nerazzurri won the Scudetto in 2020-21, ahead of Napoli loaning wantaway striker Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray this month.
He has made a flying start to life in Naples, netting in a 2-1 win over Parma ahead of the international break, then getting on the scoresheet again as Cagliari were swatted aside on matchday four.
He also laid on assists for Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, just the third time he has scored and provided multiple assists in a single game in Europe's top five leagues. Two of those instances have come under Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports Italia after Sunday's game, Conte outlined why he was so keen to bring Lukaku in.
"I have always said that I wanted Romelu at Inter, had also requested him at Chelsea before he went to Manchester United, because he is an atypical striker," Conte said.
"He is extremely tall and physically strong, but also very good at sprinting forward. His condition is still nowhere near optimal, but he becomes fundamental for us."
The victory took Napoli top of the table ahead of Inter's trip to Monza later on Sunday, with the Partenopei registering three straight wins after starting with a humiliating 3-0 loss at Verona.
Conte, however, has dismissed suggestions his team are ready to compete for the Scudetto, saying they have plenty more work to do.
"I do feel that at the moment all teams are settling down still, as the transfer window closed late and we are all trying to find our shape," Conte said.
"We need to keep improving on duels all over the field, keeping focused and concentrated, because that is what you require in Serie A.
"We’ve worked hard over the last two and a half months, we’ve got to put on the blinkers and keep pushing forward without looking at anyone else."
Monza 1-1 Inter: Dumfries spares Nerazzurri's blushes
Champions Inter were knocked off the Serie A summit on Sunday as they were forced to come from behind to play out a 1-1 draw with Monza.
Hosts Monza took the lead in the 81st minute through substitute forward Dany Mota, but the Nerazzurri would avoid a surprise defeat to their neighbours as Denzel Dumfries levelled seven minutes later.
Lautaro Martinez should have put the Scudetto holders in front inside the opening 10 minutes, when he received a perfect cross from Federico Dimarco.
His header from the centre of the box, however, sailed slightly over the crossbar before Dimarco and Davide Frattesi spurned chances of their own.
But Monza defended resolutely and they went on to take a shock lead nine minutes from time, Mota nodding home a neat lofted cross from Armando Izzo.
Inter stepped up their efforts after falling behind and defender Dumfries tapped in a low cross from Carlos Augusto with two minutes of the 90 remaining, but the Nerazzurri could not find a winner.
While Inter are still unbeaten, their second draw of the campaign means they sit one point adrift of Napoli at the summit, while Monza stay 15th with three points from four games.
Data Debrief: Stuttering start for Nerazzurri
Inter's start has not exactly been dismal, Simone Inzaghi's men staying unbeaten and only slipping one point behind the pace at the top of Serie A.
However, it is in stark contrast to the starts they have made to recent campaigns.
In fact, this is the first time Inter have failed to win two of their first four matches of a Serie A season since 2020-21, when they drew one and lost one under Antonio Conte.
The silver lining? They went on to capture the title that season.
Atletico Madrid 3-0 Valencia: Gallagher and Alvarez off the mark in win
Atletico Madrid cruised to a convincing 3-0 home win over LaLiga's bottom side Valencia on Sunday, with Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez scoring their first goals for the club.
Marcos Llorente and Samuel Lino went close in the first half before Atletico took the lead in the 39th minute, new signing Gallagher finishing into the bottom corner after latching onto a delightful pass from Rodrigo De Paul.
Valencia fought hard for an equaliser, with Javi Guerra's long-range effort going wide, but they were unable to prevent Antoine Griezmann from making it 2-0 after Lino's header fell into his path nine minutes after the break.
Another new recruit, Alvarez, put the icing on the cake with his first goal in the Spanish top flight since arriving from Manchester City, when he slotted home Rodrigo Riquelme's cross in the 93rd minute.
Atletico, who are still unbeaten this season, moved into second place, level on 11 points with Real Madrid and four behind leaders Barcelona.
Data Debrief: New boys off the mark
Gallagher's opener made him the third-youngest Englishman to net in LaLiga this century, at the age of 24 years and 222 days.
Only Jude Bellingham (20 years and 44 days) and Mason Greenwood (22 years, seven days), both in 2023, have done so at a younger age.
He wasn't the only new recruit to impress on Sunday, though.
Alvarez's goal made him the 14th Argentinian player to score for Atleti since the turn of the century, with no other foreign nation supplying as many unique goalscorers for Los Colchoneros in that time.
O'Neil confident Wolves will overachieve this season despite Newcastle setback
Gary O'Neil is confident Wolves will overachieve again in the Premier League this season despite falling to a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle on Sunday.
Mario Lemina had given the hosts a half-time lead, only for Fabian Schar and Harvey Barnes' long-range efforts completing the turnaround for the Magpies.
Wolves have now failed to win any of their opening four league games this term and occupy the final place in the bottom three.
Their single point against Nottingham Forest makes this their joint-worst start to a Premier League campaign, along with 2003-04, when they were relegated in last place.
O'Neil's side have now also lost six of their last seven league games at Molineux, losing more games on home turf in 2024 than any other team in the top-flight (eight).
But the Wolves head coach, who oversaw a 14th-place finish in his debut campaign at the helm last year, is confident his players will find their groove.
"We have better depth, of course. The run is the run. The team should be judged on what they did for the whole of last season.
"I am sure we will overachieve what many people will expect of us this season.
"Everyone is desperate for our first win. That was close to being our best today.
"We have gone up against a side that have spent an awful lot of money and were in the Champions League.
"There are not a lot of teams that can go against Newcastle and look the most likely to win."
There were positives for O'Neil to take from the defeat, however, most notably the performance of new addition Andre in central midfield.
The Brazilian completed all 40 of his passes against Newcastle, the most on record by a player on their first ever Premier League start without misplacing one (since 2003-04).
"Very good, he's a good player obviously. New system today with the three midfielders in. An awful lot of positives," O'Neil said.
"Of course the only positives that people are interested in is points.
"From my point of view, to have come up with a new structure for the team and for it to look how it did against Newcastle was a big plus for us."
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