Paul Pogba's departure from Manchester United at the end of this season has been long assumed.

The French midfielder's 2016 arrival for a second spell at Old Trafford came in a world-record breaking deal, but he has not delivered on the expectations that accompanied the £89million price tag.

As a result, the World Cup winner could well make a return to Juventus, the club where he first came to serious prominence.

TOP STORY – JUVENTUS LINE UP POGBA RETURN

Juventus have made a contract offer they believe puts them in the box seat to sign Paul Pogba, according to the Mirror.

Pogba is set to leave Manchester United when his contract expires at the end of this season, and Juve have reportedly offered an £8million annual salary.

With Paulo Dybala and Giorgio Chiellini's impending departures freeing up salary room, the Pogba offer is also said to include a substantial signing-on fee and bonus package to complement the base deal.

The 29-year-old Pogba has missed the Red Devils' past four Premier League games due to calf trouble, and he was absent for two months earlier in the season with a hamstring injury.

ROUND-UP

- Paris Saint-Germain would want to trim their playing squad before considering any more for United's Pogba, RMC Sport is reporting.

- United will seek to replace Pogba by signing cash-strapped Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, according to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero.

- According to the Telegraph, Tottenham are interested in Everton's Richarlison, Anthony Gordon and Ben Godfrey.

- In order to compensate for Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger's departures, Calciomercato reports Chelsea will look to sign Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly.

Sadio Mane has been speculated as a potential Ballon d'Or winner in recent weeks.

And the Liverpool forward is also gathering speculation about his club future.

The 30-year-old helped Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations in February and has netted 15 goals in Liverpool's Premier League title challenge.

TOP STORY – BARCA TO SWOOP FOR BAYERN TARGET MANE

Barcelona are ready to swoop in to sign Liverpool's Mane amid reported interest from Bayern Munich, Mundo Deportivo claims.

The Senegal international is reportedly interested in a switch and is moving into the final 12 months of his Liverpool contract.

Barcelona have missed out on Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland who will join Manchester City and are determined to land an elite forward this off-season.

ROUND-UP

- Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry is drawing attention from several clubs, with Real Madrid among the clubs interested, according to Fichajes.

- Newcastle United have made contact with Philippe Coutinho about a move, reports Goal. Coutinho is currently on loan with Aston Villa from Barcelona.

- The Guardian claims that West Ham United are plotting an off-season move for Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins. Villa would demand a £50m fee for the forward.

- Manchester United and Newcastle are both interested in signing Napoli's Victor Osimhen, claims Calciomercato. Napoli want 100m euros (£85.5m) for the Nigerian forward.

- Super Deporte claims that Sevilla are interested in a transfer for Arsenal's Nicolas Pepe.

Three matchdays remain in Serie A, and yet there is plenty still to be decided at both ends of the table – not least which side will be crowned champions.

Milan occupy top spot in their quest for a first Scudetto since 2011, but fierce rivals Inter are just two points behind and arguably have an easier set of fixtures to conclude the campaign.

Napoli and Juventus are not officially out of the title race just yet, though they are seven and eight points off first place respectively, therefore requiring a remarkable set of results.

Both Napoli and Juventus are already assured of a top-four finish, but there are several other teams still battling it out for the three remaining European spots.

Venezia appear doomed at the opposite end of the table after losing to fellow strugglers Salernitana on Thursday, with the latter's victory lifting them out of the bottom three – in all, six teams remain in trouble.

But just how will the remaining two and a half weeks of the season unfold? Using the Stats Perform League Prediction Model, we can try to forecast the final standings.

Created by Stats Perform AI using Opta data, the model has analysed the division to assign percentages to potential outcomes for each club.

The model estimates the probability of each match outcome (win, draw or loss) based on teams' attacking and defensive qualities, which considers four years' worth of results.

Weighting is based on recency and the quality of opposition, with the rest of the matches then simulated 10,000 times to calculate the likelihood of each outcome.

Let's take a look...

MILAN TO SEE THE JOB THROUGH

Milan still have Hellas Verona (ninth), Atalanta (eighth) and Sassuolo (11th) to face, whereas Inter's final fixtures are against Empoli (14th), Cagliari (18th) and Sampdoria (15th).

However, it is worth noting that if they finish level on points, Milan would be crowned champions by virtue of a superior head-to-read record against their rivals this term.

With that in mind, while Inter are only two points behind, they essentially need to take three more points than Milan over the final three matchdays.

And our model suggests the Rossoneri have a 62 per cent chance of retaining top spot, compared to a 37.7 per cent chance of defending champions Inter overtaking them.

Just to highlight how unlikely it is either Napoli or Juventus will pip the current top two to the summit, they have a 0.2 and 0.1 per cent chance of winning the title respectively.

A ROME ONE-TWO FOR EUROPA LEAGUE?

The Champions League places may now officially be wrapped up, but five teams are still battling it out for the three remaining European berths.

The sides that finish in fifth and sixth, currently occupied by Roma and Lazio, will qualify for the Europa League group stage.

Roma, according to the model, have a 59.1 per cent chance of nailing down fifth place – though if they were to drop to seventh, the Europa Conference League finalists could get into the Europa League by winning UEFA's third-tier competition.

Lazio would take great enjoyment from finishing above their neighbours and have a 36.9 per cent chance of doing so.

The first priority for Maurizio Sarri will be locking down sixth, though, and there is a 46.7 per cent likelihood of achieving that with Fiorentina three points further back.

ATALANTA TO PIP FIORENTINA

While the top six are forecast to remain where they are, our model predicts seventh-placed Fiorentina will miss out to Atalanta in the Europa Conference League play-off position.

After losing three games in a row, La Viola now have a 31.2 per cent chance of staying seventh, compared to 47.6 for Atalanta, whom they are currently level with on 56 points.

Verona are four points further back and that appears to be too big a gap to bridge, with the Gialloblu seemingly certain to remain in eighth.

Indeed, the 80.8 per cent likelihood of Verona finishing in that position is bettered only by the chances of Empoli staying 14th (90.2 per cent) and Venezia remaining bottom (87.4 per cent) given the points margin either side.

VENEZIA AND TWO OTHERS TO DESCEND

Thursday's 2-1 defeat away to Salernitana looks to have spelled the end for Venezia's brief stint back in the top flight as it leaves them seven points from safety. Their chances of escaping the drop sit at 0.1 per cent.

Salernitana still have a 36.2 per cent chance of dropping into the bottom three, but given they face the team directly below them – Cagliari – and Empoli in their next two games, they will surely like those odds.

Another win for Salernitana on Sunday would be massive at the bottom, as such a result will relegate Venezia and potentially Genoa, whom the model gives only a 1.2 per cent likelihood of climbing up to 17th.

Spezia and Sampdoria aren't quite out of the woods yet, but their five-point cushions should be enough to keep them in Serie A. Everything points to Sunday's contest being almost a straight relegation play-off between Salernitana and Cagliari.

The model suggests with a 63.3 per cent probability that Cagliari will go down, but their fate is in their own hands.

With his contract set to expire at the end of this season, Kylian Mbappe is reportedly going to sign a two-year extension with Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappe, 23, has established himself as one of the world's premier players, with 24 goals and 16 assists in his 32 Ligue 1 fixtures this season, and six goals with six assists in eight Champions League games.

In his four seasons since arriving in Paris in 2018, he has won three Ligue 1 titles with one runners-up finish, but has never won the Champions League. A disappointing exit in the first knockout stage this campaign was supposed to push the young star out the door, but that may not be the case.

TOP STORY – MBAPPE ON THE BRINK OF PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN EXTENSION

Mbappe has been strongly linked with Real Madrid – often referred to as his 'dream club' – but he may snub the Champions League finalists for a deal Le Parisien reports is worth £42.5million per year, with an £85m signing bonus.

If he does opt to stay in France, it will have a significant domino effect as it would likely take PSG out of the discussion for a number of the world's most expensive players in the coming transfer window, and vastly increase Madrid's spending power if they had budgeted for his arrival.

While it appears at this stage that a deal is likely, The Mirror is reporting Mbappe's mum saying "there is no agreement in principle with Paris Saint-Germain or any other club".

ROUND-UP

– The Daily Star is reporting Pep Guardiola will sign a contract extension to keep him at Manchester City until at least 2025.

– Everton are prepared to sell goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to fund a rebuild, according to Talksport. Tottenham and Newcastle United are said to be monitoring the England international's situation.

– Jose Mourinho wants to bring Manchester United full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Roma, per The Sun.

– The Sun is reporting Man City will compete with United for the signature of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

– According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli striker Victor Osimhen would prefer to join Arsenal instead of Man United or Newcastle.

Luciano Spalletti hit out at the media coverage surrounding Napoli after his side cruised to a 6-1 thrashing of Sassuolo on Saturday.

Napoli saw their Scudetto hopes crushed as a second-half collapse allowed Empoli victory last week, but Spalletti's side raced out the blocks against Sassuolo as Kalidou Koulibaly, Victor Osimhen and Hirving Lozano struck.

The rapid start saw Napoli net three times within the first 20 minutes of a Serie A match for the first time since May 2009 before Dries Mertens added a double either side of the interval.

Amir Rrahmani then turned home with the hosts claiming a 6-1 win after Maxime Lopez's late consolation goal.

But Spalletti was in no mood for celebrating after Napoli all but secured Champions League qualification, sitting 12 points clear of fifth-placed Roma, who have four games to play.

The Napoli coach questioned the reporting by the media after speculation persisted over his future following the disappointing defeat to Empoli.

"Being almost mathematically certain of Champions League football with three rounds to spare was not an easy target. Having said that, there are some regrets," he told reporters.

"I was the one who talked about the Scudetto to raise the bar, but winning a game in today's atmosphere, with part of the crowd protesting, is something that disappoints me considering all the players have done this season.

"It almost feels like it's a success to be where Roma, Atalanta or Lazio are, but Napoli are treated as a failure.

"Who has doubts about me? A journalist who has no ideas and decides to fill up space by going back to find problems from years ago, back to Francesco Totti, Mauro Icardi and who knows what else.

"I see bad faith in some reporting around me and Napoli. You are trying to obscure the great result of Champions League qualification by making it all about the Scudetto.

"It's true we dropped points against Empoli, but just as true that we have achieved things with Napoli this season. The team did not deserve to play in this atmosphere."

Spalletti is aiming to continue building at Napoli even if he is to lose some of his star players after impressing this season.

"This season told us a lot, now we have more material available and we have created a showcase for many players," he added.

"At the beginning of the season the president talked about having to lower the salary, there were not many proposals, now many are interested in the transfer market and I'm happy with this.

"These players here deserve showcases and deserve to be in the sights of other important clubs such as Napoli."

Toni Kroos future at the Santiago Bernabeu has suddenly become precarious, with the relationship between the player and Real Madrid disintegrating.

The 32-year-old's dramatic drop in form has called into question whether he will see out his contract, which expires at the end of next season in 2023.

With that in mind, there are reports Real Madrid will look to both replace him and bolster their midfield in the same transfer window.

TOP STORY – REAL MADRID EYE POGBA AND TCHOUAMENI FOR KROOS

Real Madrid are seeking to replace Toni Kroos and strengthen their midfield, with the intent to sign both Paul Pogba and Aurelien Tchouameni, El Nacional is reporting.

The highly rated Tchouameni has long been a transfer target for Madrid, while the expiration of Pogba's contract at the end of this season makes them both attainable.

Kroos' position in Real Madrid's starting midfield has become vulnerable with the form of Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde, while this transpires amid the backdrop of Luka Modric's contract extension. 

It was reported that Kroos sought to extend for another season and retire in 2024, but that possibility now seems unlikely.

ROUND-UP

- Bayern Munich are eyeing Luka Jovic as a potential replacement in the event of Robert Lewandowski's departure for Barcelona, Sport is reporting.

- Incoming Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag wants to sign outgoing Juventus attacker Paulo Dybala, according to the Corriere dello Sport.

- The Red Devils have also indicated to Napoli they are willing to pay £84million (€99.8m) for striker Victor Osimhen, La Repubblica reports.

- Arsenal have expressed interest in signing Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, per Football Insider.

Luciano Spalletti insisted he must swallow the blame for Napoli's collapse against Empoli that all but ended their Scudetto hopes.

The evergreen Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne fired Spalletti's visitors into a 2-0 lead at Stadio Carlo Castellani before Napoli succumbed to a spectacular comeback.

Liam Henderson pulled one back in the 80th minute before a double from Inter loanee Andrea Pinamonti capped a remarkable turnaround to leave Napoli, who have played a game more, five points behind Serie A leaders Inter.

That made Empoli just the third team in Serie A history to win after trailing by two goals after 79 minutes, after Inter versus Sampdoria in January 2005, and Sampdoria against Sassuolo in November 2016.

It also marked the first time Napoli have lost an Italian top-flight match after leading by two goals since March 1942, a 5-3 reverse against Torino.

Spalletti's side entered the game sitting four points behind second-placed Milan, who were due in action at Lazio later on Sunday, and the head coach believes he should take much of the criticism for Napoli's frail mentality.

He told DAZN after the game: "I can only take note of what happens. Clearly, imagining an end to the game like that was difficult, but when you don't have the right intensity and concentration...

"We made a few too many mistakes, lost the ball too cheaply. Inevitably, the coach has to shoulder much of the blame for the attitude and consistency. The responsibility lies with the coach."

Goalkeeper Alex Meret was largely at fault for Pinamonti's leveller, his lapse in concentration allowing the striker to pounce and equalise, and Spalletti appreciates the error allowed Empoli a way back into the game.

"It depends on what you build day by day, the attitude that is consolidated, being focused, attentive. Something evidently went wrong," the coach added.

"When we talk about an error like that, some fear sets in and the opponents can take advantage. Even if Empoli hadn't won for a while, they played good football. These things can happen in football and it happened.

"It's important for us to keep possession because our characteristics are not suited to a physical contest. Even then, it didn't seem to be a battle to that level to become unsustainable for these players."

Individual mistakes aside, Spalletti reiterated he must take much of the blame for the second-half performance as he brought his own future into question.

"I am responsible for this team, for their attitude, their approach, so I take the consequences for what happens on the field," Spalletti said.

"Much of it has to be my fault. We've been working together for almost a year, there ought to be a mentality and reaction coming from my work with these players.

"We were challenging for the Scudetto, as everyone said, we had the qualities to challenge for the Scudetto, but if the level is this, I cannot avoid being called into question."

Jose Mourinho said he was "ashamed" by the officiating of Roma's 1-1 Serie A draw at Napoli, believing the hosts should have conceded a penalty and had a man sent off.

Mourinho also appeared to suggest teams fighting for the Serie A title were being favoured by officials in a post-match outburst, after Stephan El Shaarawy's last-minute goal sealed a valuable point for the Giallorossi.

Roma trailed for 80 minutes in Naples after Lorenzo Insigne netted his eighth penalty of the season, the highest tally among players in Europe's top five leagues this season.

But El Shaarawy's 91st-minute strike kept Roma within five points of fourth-placed Juventus, and represented the winger's third last-minute goal of the Serie A season, more than any other player.

Mourinho, however, vented his frustration at the officials.

"There are teams that play to win the Scudetto, we don't," Mourinho told DAZN. "But we still have the right to play to win games, regardless of the opponent we face, whether it's a team fighting for the Scudetto or one already relegated. 

"Today it seemed that we did not have the right to play to win. [VAR] Mr Di Paolo, not to mention [referee] Mr Di Bello made me feel ashamed at least twice, the red to [Napoli defender Alessandro] Zanoli which was not given, and for the penalty not given to [Roma attacker Nicolo] Zaniolo. 

"Luckily they [the officials] found nothing in our goal to nullify it. But enough, I ask for a little respect. 

"Unfortunately, we weren't good at the beginning [of the season] and now we cannot fight to win the Scudetto, but I want to have the right to play to win games."

Mourinho celebrated wildly when El Shaarawy equalised, and expressed his pride at Roma extending their unbeaten run to 12 Serie A matches.

"I rejoiced at El Shaarawy's goal because during the match it seemed impossible to get out of here with a positive result," Mourinho said.

"We played very well, and we grew during the game. My team was fantastic, these guys fill me with pride. After Thursday's game [against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League] the field today looked like Everest to us. But great quality, character, incredible physical and mental condition. We wanted more, but we did what we could."

For Napoli, the last-gasp leveller represented a severe blow to their hopes of a first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era, and head coach Luciano Spalletti conceded that a return of one point from their last two matches was not up to scratch.

Spalletti, though, drew attention to Mourinho's behaviour on the touchline. 

"From the first minute I tell my bench to behave well," Spelletti said. "Even today, we have all been seated on the bench. 

"Other teams seem to play at home, they jump on everyone, I'm not just talking about Roma, I'm talking in general. We sit down and let the referees do the work they have to do."

Napoli and Roma have drawn both their matches in a single Serie A campaign for the first time since the 1994-95 season, having played out a goalless draw last October.

Milan boss Stefano Pioli is sick of discussing who is the favourite to win the Scudetto after his side dropped points in a 0-0 draw against Torino.

It was not a strong performance for Milan going forward, finishing with 0.8 expected goals compared to Torino's 1.1, as both teams registered three shots on target.

The result leaves Milan two points clear of Inter and Napoli, while Inter have one game in hand.

Speaking with post-game media, Pioli said he is tired of overreacting to every "misstep" from the title contenders.

"It's been two or three weeks that all those who claim to be favourites have made missteps," he said.

"Our approach was to create difficulties for Torino – with a little more clarity, we could have been more dangerous. 

"It's not for me to give percentages, I never guess. 

"Three weeks ago, during the break, we were super-favourites. Then, Napoli was super-favourite, then Inter. 

"Until the last two days there will be great balance."

Touching on his side's performance against Torino, Pioli discussed the challenge that the 11th-placed side presents.

"It is quite evident that we have done everything to move and give them few points of reference," he said.

"We knew about the difficulties of the game – Toro creates difficulties for everyone in their defensive phase. 

"It is true that we have not created very clear scoring chances, but we created many [dangerous] situations. 

"It's a moment like this, we're not very precise, [but] I can't say anything to the team for spirit and application.

"We are missing that spark, and clearly it's a positive result, but we wanted a win."

Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti conceded the race for the Scudetto was no longer in his side's hands after they fell to a 3-2 loss to Fiorentina.

Dries Mertens cancelled out Nico Gonzalez's first-half opener at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, before Jonathan Ikone and Arthur Cabral put the visitors two goals to the good.

Victor Osimhen pulled one back in the closing stages for Spalletti's side, but his efforts were ultimately in vain as Napoli succumbed to their sixth league loss this season, five of which came at home.

The defeat leaves them level on points with defending champions Inter, who have played a game fewer, and two behind Serie A leaders Milan ahead of the Rossoneri facing Torino on Sunday evening.

With that deficit in mind, a visibly disappointed Spalletti acknowledged to DAZN that the race for the Serie A title was now out of Napoli's control, and they would need favours from others to win a first Scudetto since 1990.

"Yes [it changes the title race], now everything is getting harder," he said. 

"We have no choice but to be professional. Now, we think about winning the next game, even if now it depends on others and not on us."

The Italian also believes the "costly" loss to Fiorentina was undeserved.

"This is a very costly defeat and in some ways undeserved," he added. "Fiorentina played their game and earned the win, but we started strong, then tried to play too long and allowed them to take control of midfield.

"When we conceded the second goal, it all became far more difficult. We have to take some blame for what happened, but it's so disappointing because the fans, the attitude of the whole team throughout the week was the right one."

As for Napoli's disappointing home record, Spalletti claims he does not see a pattern within their home reverses, which he said should be evaluated separately.

"The matches must be evaluated game-by-game," he added.

"I don't see anything similar to the other games, I don't see a sure problem."

Napoli will look to make amends when they host Roma in Serie A on Monday, after Fiorentina became the first side to beat them twice on their own turf in one season since Lazio in 2014-15 (Fiorentina also eliminated Napoli from the Coppa Italia in Naples).

Napoli head coach Luciano Spalletti has said his team understands they are "playing for the happiness of a city" after an impressive 3-1 victory away to Atalanta put them level on points with Serie A leaders Milan.

A penalty from Lorenzo Insigne and a Matteo Politano free-kick saw the Naples side 2-0 up at half-time, only for Marten de Roon to halve the deficit just before the hour mark at Gewiss Stadium.

However, a well-taken goal on the counter-attack from Elif Elmas late on after neat work from Hirving Lozano was enough to secure the three points and give Napoli their third league win in a row.

The victory means Spalletti's men are on 66 points, the same as leaders Milan though having played a game more, with the Rossoneri hosting Bologna on Monday.

"We have come out of difficult situations this season, but at this point here, there is no turning back," Spalletti told DAZN after the win.

"We suffered again today, at the beginning of both halves, [but] the team began to turn and even when Atalanta responded, the team did not disunite, on the contrary, we went in search of the third goal, which shows how we have grown."

Napoli, who were missing star striker Victor Osimhen, have now scored eight penalties in a single Serie A campaign for the first time since they returned to the top-flight (from 2007/08).

It is their away record that has kept them in the race for the Scudetto, having now won 11 and lost just one of their 16 games on the road (D4).

However, Spalletti also acknowledged their home form, which has been less impressive, winning nine and losing four of their 15 games at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (D2).

"There is still a long way to go, because we have lost too many points at home and we cannot let our guard down," he added.

"What these guys have understood is that they are playing for the happiness of a city."

Barcelona's rebuild under Xavi has shown positive signs, but a new striker appears to be a priority going forward.

Following Sergio Aguero's retirement in December, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived during the January transfer window and quickly excelled under Xavi, but his position may yet come under threat.

Memphis Depay remains the club's top scorer this season, netting 10 times in all competitions, yet one potential signing guarantees goals.

TOP STORY – LEWANDOWSKI SETTLES ON BARCELONA MOVE

Barcelona have reportedly reached an agreement with Robert Lewandowski.

Sport claims the Poland striker wants to leave Bayern Munich for the Catalan giants, but they will have to convince Bayern to sell him.

The 33-year-old's contract expires at the end of next season and he is yet to agree to an extension in Bavaria.

Lewandowski has scored 45 goals in all competitions this term, and Barca are reportedly willing to pay as much as €60million to bring him to Camp Nou for next season.

ROUND-UP

– Tottenham are leading the race to sign Memphis Depay, per reports in Mundo Deportivo.

– Napoli have set a price tag of €100million for striker Victor Osimhen, according to Corriere dello Sport.

– The Mirror is reporting Ainsley Maitland-Niles is expected not to be retained by Roma, on loan from Arsenal.

– Inter show continued interest in Torino's Gleison Bremer, with talks in progress with a defender also linked to Milan, per Fabrizio Romano.

Marco Verratti and Jorginho were among a group of six players to leave the Italy camp after their failure to qualify for the World Cup. 

Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne, Domenico Berardi and Gianluca Mancini also returned to their clubs ahead of schedule, with the latter two having sustained knocks. 

Italy coach Roberto Mancini is expected to ring the changes in a friendly against Turkey on Tuesday following the Azzurri's shock defeat to North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final on Thursday. 

The Euro 2020 champions' first ever home loss in World Cup qualifying meant they failed to reach successive finals for the first time in their history. 

Instead of taking on Portugal in the play-off final, Italy will depart for Konya on Monday. 

Victor Osimhen matched the Serie A feat of Mohamed Salah, Samuel Eto'o and George Weah as the striker's double dragged Napoli to a 2-1 win over Udinese.

Gerard Deulofeu's first-half strike edged Udinese ahead at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, before Osimhen came to the fore after the interval.

Not only did that keep Napoli, temporarily at least, on level terms with leaders Milan, but the two goals took him to 11 for the campaign in Serie A.

That makes Osimhen the first Nigerian to achieve double figures in two consecutive Serie A seasons, while he became just the fourth African player to achieve the feat in the Italian top flight, after Weah for Milan, Eto'o for Inter and Salah for Roma.

The 23-year-old labelled the victory as essential in the hunt for Napoli's first Scudetto since the 1989-90 season.

"The atmosphere was incredible. We had a good reaction after the first half. It was essential to win and I thank the fans for their support," he told DAZN.

"We have to believe we can win the league. There are still eight games and we have to continue like this."

Napoli will look to continue their title charge after the international break when they visit top-four chasers Atalanta.

Victor Osimhen matched the Serie A feat of Mohamed Salah, Samuel Eto'o and George Weah as the striker's double dragged Napoli to a 2-1 win over Udinese.

Gerard Deulofeu's first-half strike edged Udinese ahead at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, before Osimhen came to the fore after the interval.

Not only did that keep Napoli, temporarily at least, on level terms with leaders Milan, but the two goals took him to 11 for the campaign in Serie A.

That makes Osimhen the first Nigerian to achieve double figures in two consecutive Serie A seasons, while he became just the fourth African player to achieve the feat in the Italian top flight, after Weah for Milan, Eto'o for Inter and Salah for Roma.

The 23-year-old labelled the victory as essential in the hunt for Napoli's first Scudetto since the 1989-90 season.

"The atmosphere was incredible. We had a good reaction after the first half. It was essential to win and I thank the fans for their support," he told DAZN.

"We have to believe we can win the league. There are still eight games and we have to continue like this."

Napoli will look to continue their title charge after the international break when they visit top-four chasers Atalanta.