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."

David Neres has completed a permanent move from Benfica to Napoli, the Serie A club confirmed on Wednesday. 

Neres, who scored 17 times across a two-year spell with the Portuguese side, has signed for a reported £23.8m fee with add-ons potentially increasing that to £25.5m.

The Brazilian registered 15 goal involvements (five goals and 10 assists) for Benfica last year as they finished second in the Primeira Liga and won the Portuguese Super Cup. 

He created 31 chances in the league last season, while also completing 34 dribbles, a total only bettered by Joao Neves (41), Rafa (51) and Angel Di Maria (55). 

Neres has been brought in to provide creativity and goals from the wide positions alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with Napoli netting 55 times in Serie A last season, 34 less than champions Inter. 

The 27-year-old becomes Gli Azzurri's third signing of the transfer window following the arrivals of Alessandro Buongiorno and Rafa Marin, with it expected they will complete a deal for Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku in the coming days.

After failing to defend their Serie A crown last season, Napoli welcome Bologna to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this Sunday in their opening league game. 

Benfica have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after second-half goals from Joao Mario and David Neres saw them beat knockout round debutants Club Brugge 2-0 in Wednesday's last-16 first leg.

Brugge gifted their visitors two huge chances at Jan Breydel Stadium and were duly punished.

Jack Hendry's foul on Goncalo Ramos allowed Joao Mario to score from the spot six minutes after the restart, with Simon Mignolet only able to push the ball in off the crossbar.

Fredrik Aursnes, Antonio Silva and Rafa Silva passed up opportunities in the space of six first-half minutes, but Neres was on hand to ensure their misses did not prove costly when he capitalised on Bjorn Meijer's mistake in the 88th minute.

Scott Parker – the third English manager to take charge of a non-English team in the Champions League, after Bobby Robson and Gary Neville – saw his side have a Denis Odoi goal disallowed for offside before the break.

But Brugge never did enough to test Benfica, who won a third straight game in the competition for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.

Parker has won just one of his eight games in charge of Brugge, and they face a tough ask in the second leg on March 7 if they are to go and extend their dream run, especially given Benfica are unbeaten at home in all competitions this season.

David Neres scored a second-half winner as Juventus continued their poor start to the season with a 2-1 defeat at home to Benfica in the Champions League.

Having seen a late winner ruled out in Sunday's ill-tempered draw with Salernitana, Arkadiusz Milik took just four minutes to open the scoring, flicking past Odisseas Vlachodimos to seemingly put the hosts in control.

However, Joao Mario levelled things up with a first-half penalty and Neres volleyed in the winner after 55 minutes, putting Benfica joint-top of Group H alongside Paris Saint-Germain.

There were chances for a late equaliser, Dusan Vlahovic seeing an effort disallowed and Bremer squandering a golden opportunity to leave the pressure mounting upon Massimiliano Allegri.

Juve raced out the blocks in a frantic start, with Milik's glancing header from Leandro Paredes' right-wing cross finding the bottom-left corner to open the scoring.

Filip Kostic drilled just wide from Juan Cuadrado's looping delivery before Goncalo Ramos should have restored parity but directed straight at Mattia Perin with a close-range header.

Rafa struck the right-hand post with a curling effort but Benfica's dominance soon paid dividends when Joao Mario converted his penalty, which was awarded after a VAR check for a Fabio Miretti foul on Ramos.

Vlachodimos parried away a swerving Milik shot after the interval before Neres smashed a left-footed volley into the bottom-left corner following Perin's save from Rafa's drive.

Perin was again required to push away a fizzing Rafa strike before the Juve goalkeeper showed smart reflexes to keep out a Neres strike as Benfica threatened to extend their lead.

Vlahovic thought he had snatched a late equaliser, only for the offside flag to go up after Mattia De Scigilo's cross from the left, before Bremer blazed a golden opportunity over with just three minutes left.

What does it mean? Juve struggles against Benfica continue

Juve have now won just one of seven European meetings with Benfica as their uninspiring form in both the Champions League and Serie A continued at the Allianz Stadium.

Benfica had lost 10 of their last 12 away games against Italian sides, with their only win coming against Fiorentina in the 1996-97 Cup Winners Cup, but responded emphatically to Milik's opener to collect a rare victory in Italy.

Defeat left Juve without a point to their name in Group H and Allegri's side have ground to make up on Roger Schmidt's side, who are level on points with PSG after their perfect start.

Rafa shines

Rafa was a constant menace to the Juve defence as he repeatedly found space in between the lines to operate behind the dangerous Ramos.

While he was denied by the woodwork and by Perin in the build-up to Neres' goal, Rafa also created a game-high four chances (level with Paredes) in a brilliant attacking display.

More needed from Miretti

Injuries to the likes of Paul Pogba, Federico Chiesa and Adrien Rabiot have offered Miretti a chance in Allegri's starting line-up.

But the youngster struggled as he gave away the first-half penalty, while winning less than half of his 12 duels and completing just 11 passes before his 58th-minute removal.

What's next?

Juve return to Serie A action at Monza on Sunday, while Benfica host Maritimo in the Primeira Liga on the same day.

Benfica have announced the signing of Brazil winger David Neres from Shakhtar Donetsk, as the Lisbon giants move to strengthen their squad following the sale of Darwin Nunez to Liverpool. 

Neres has signed a five-year contract with Benfica, who have agreed to pay a reported €15.3million for the tricky 25-year-old. 

Neres rose to prominence during a five-year spell at Eredivisie giants Ajax, scoring 47 goals and supplying 34 assists in 180 appearances in all competitions. He impressed during their run to the Champions League semi-finals under Erik ten Hag in 2018-19. 

The winger left Ajax for Shakhtar last January but never played an official game for the club after the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to the suspension of the country's top flight. 

Neres told Benfica's website he was thrilled to have the opportunity to play regularly again in a comfortable setting. 

"It is good to arrive in a country where everyone speaks Portuguese, and I am very happy to sign for the club. Benfica is a big club in Europe and in the world," he said. 

"Everyone knows how strong Benfica is and how great the club is. I am happy to have the opportunity to play football again, something I love. 

"I hope the adaptation will be easy. I lived five years in the Netherlands, where the language and climate are totally different. Here in Portugal, I have everything going for me and I hope it will be easier." 

Neres won all seven of his international caps during 2019, starting two games as Brazil won the Copa America, and will hope his move to the 37-time Portuguese champions can aid his chances of breaking back into Tite's squad for the World Cup in Qatar this year. 

Benfica have allowed another Brazilian winger to leave the club to facilitate the deal, with Everton – who has 25 caps for the Selecao – being sold to Flamengo. 

Where will Harry Kane play in 2021-22?

The Tottenham star Kane reportedly wants out of his boyhood club.

Premier League rivals Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are ready to pounce…

TOP STORY – KANE SEEKING SPURS DEPARTURE

Harry Kane has told Tottenham he wants to leave the club in the off-season, according to widespread reports in England.

Frustrated at a lack of silverware in London, Spurs star Kane would reportedly prefer to remain in the Premier League amid links to champions Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Kane is believed to be open to a LaLiga switch, with Barcelona among his admirers.

ROUND-UP

- The front page of Diario AS claims former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is the favourite to replace Zinedine Zidane if the Frenchman leaves Real Madrid. Club great Raul, who is currently in charge of the Castilla team, is another option. It comes as Madrid push to bring in a franchise player in the form of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, while Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland and Bayern Munich's David Alaba are also wanted amid links to Rennes sensation Eduardo Camavinga and United midfielder Paul Pogba.

- The Sun says City are considering a mega move for Barca superstar Lionel Messi, who is out of contract at the end of the season. Messi is reportedly open to reuniting with Pep Guardiola in Manchester on a one-year deal.

- Barca are weighing up the futures of Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Antoine Griezmann and Sergi Roberto, reports Mundo Deportivo. Due to their financial situation, the players could be asked to take a pay cut as Lyon captain Memphis Depay prepares to arrive on a free transfer. City forward Sergio Aguero and defender Eric Garcia, Haaland and Liverpool's Georginio Wijnaldum have also been linked.

- Lille's Jonathan Ikone is Dortmund's top priority as the Bundesliga club prepare for life without Jadon Sancho, according to France Football. Sancho has been tipped to join United or Liverpool, while Dortmund are also eyeing PSV sensation Donyell Malen, Ajax forward David Neres and Pedro Goncalves of Sporting CP.