MONZA, Italy (Reuters) -A second-half header by Scott McTominay secured title-chasing Napoli a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Monza in Serie A on Saturday as Antonio Conte's side provisionally moved level with leaders Inter Milan.
Napoli put on an underwhelming display in a clash that looked nothing like an affair between relegation candidates and title contenders, with McTominay sealing the three points in the 72nd minute.
Second-placed Napoli are level with Inter on 71 points from 33 games, before the defending champions travel to Bologna on Sunday.
Monza sit bottom with 15 points, 11 points from safety.
Napoli stormed Monza's goal in brief spells of the opening half but did not succeed in making their efforts count.
McTominay had a good attempt from a free kick early on, but his low shot aimed straight at Monza goalkeeper Stefano Turati.
The visitors could have then taken the lead through a dangerous header by Amir Rrahmani, which was just wide, before Romelu Lukaku had his headed attempt blocked by Monza defence.
Monza took encouragement from the visitors' lacking powers and elaborated an excellent chance through Gaetano Castrovilli just before the half-hour mark.
The midfielder raced into the box from the right and struck from a tight angle to narrowly miss the far post.
Little changed after the break when Matteo Politano was released with a great pass for Napoli's best chance yet, but saw his low shot denied by the omnipresent Turati in the 69th minute.
McTominay ended the agony by nodding home three minutes later, scoring from a lovely lofted cross from the corner of the area by Giacomo Raspadori.
Monza, who won their first-ever promotion to Serie A in 2022 and remained in the top flight since, have suffered 22 defeats in the current league season.
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; editing by Clare Fallon and Pritha Sarkar)
