Scott McTominay's Napoli increase Serie A lead amid more £40m Man Utd links as Scotland ace ends drought
Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson scored his first goal in ten months, but it was not enough for Bologna to take all three points in a dramatic Serie A clash against Roma as fellow Scot Scott McTominay’s Napoli ended the weekend with an extended lead at the top of the table.
Ferguson captained I Rossoblu in their clash at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on Sunday afternoon and appeared to have sent them towards an important win when he netted from the penalty spot on 65 minutes, adding to a strike from Thijs Dallinga just a few moments before.
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Hide AdRoma - who had taken the lead earlier in the second half through Alexis Saelemaekers - kept going right until the end and grabbed an equaliser in the eighth minute of stoppage time when Artem Dovbyk also netted from the spot.


Ferguson was sidelined from April until November with a knee injury and is only now starting to break back into the Bologna team. This was the first time that the 25-year-old former Aberdeen man had found the net, his last goal coming in March last year away at Atalanta.
The draw leaves Bologna seventh in Serie A, one place outside the European spots, ahead of Tuesday’s clash with in-form Internazionale at the San Siro.
Elsewhere in Serie A, Napoli increased their lead at the top of the table on Sunday night as Scotland star McTominay helped them to a 2-0 home win over Verona.
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Hide AdMcTominay and his Gli Azzurri teammates went into the weekend fixtures at the summit of the Italian top flight, leading Atalanta by three points, and they are now four points clear after their own victory coupled with Atalanta being held to a goalless draw by Udinese on Saturday.
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It is now defending champions Inter who are Napoli’s closest rivals after their 1-0 win at Venezia moved them above the Bergamo outfit into second place.
Napoli’s win over Verona was a straightforward affair. They took the lead on five minutes when a shot from just outside the penalty box from Matteo Politano hit the post, only to bounce off diving goalkeeper Lorenzo Montipo and into the net.
Napoli dominated possession thereafter, but it took until the 61st minute for Antonio Conte’s men to double their lead when Frank Anguissa played a one-two with Romelu Lukaku and unleashed a fine shot beyond Montipo to make the points safe for the hosts.
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McTominay started in a three-man midfield and played 77 minutes before being replaced by Giovanni Raspadori. His fellow Scotland player Billy Gilmour was an unused substitute.
The win - Napoli’s fourth in a row - puts them in an excellent position ahead of next Saturday night’s visit to Atalanta, who now trail them by five points. That match kicks off a run of tough fixtures for Conte’s side, whose two games after that are against Juventus and Roma.
While Napoli currently lead the standings, they have played two games more than Inter and one more than Atalanta. Lazio are in fourth place, but are 36 points compared to Napoli’s 47.
Napoli were once again without their star playmaker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has been linked in the past few days with a £70 million move to French side Paris Saint-Germain. It has been claimed that the club’s hierarchy will listen to offers for the Georgian, who was close to a move to PSG last summer.
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Hide AdAs a result, Conte is looking at options to reinforce wide areas of his team and Napoli are claimed to hold an interest in one of McTominay’s former Manchester United teammates in Alejandro Garnacho. The Argentina internationalist has not been a regular starter at Old Trafford under new manager Ruben Amorim and could be available for transfer this month. A fee of £40m has been mooted.
Napoli plan to mine the British market again after successfully bringing McTominay, Gilmour and Lukaku to the club back in August. They were also credited with an interest in another Man Utd player in defender Harry Maguire last month.


On Saturday in Serie A, Scotland striker Che Adams started for Torino as they drew with city rivals Juventus 1-1 at home. Adams was taken off in the first minute of stoppage time in his first experience of the Turin derby. Torino end the weekend 12th in the standings
Scottish midfielder Liam Henderson came on as an 80th-minute substitute as Empoli lost 3-1 at home to Lecce. Roberto D’Aversa’s men have now slipped to 14th in the table, just a point clear of the relegation zone.
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Hide AdIn Serie B, Scottish defender Josh Doig played the full 90 minutes at left-back as Sassuolo won 2-1 away at Salernitana. It was Doig’s first 90 minutes for Sassuolo since the end of October and the Emilia-Romagna club ended the weekend six points clear at the top of Italy’s second tier.
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