Scott McTominay notches Serie A midfielder milestone first as Antonio Conte hails 'extraordinary' Napoli
Scott McTominay might've been left frustrated as Udinese held Napoli – but he still set another Serie A record.
The Scotland hero bulleted in a header from Matteo Politano's corner to celebrate his seventh goal of the season - but it was also his first headed goal of the campaign, making him the first midfielder in Italy's top flight to score with both feet and with his head this season. McTominay is of course also the only player in Napoli's squad to achieve the feat, an accomplishment made even more impressive by the fact that Belgian goal-machine Romelu Lukaku is a teammate.
McTominay is now the second highest scoring midfielder in Serie A behind AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders - and the point maintains the Naples club's lead at the top of the standings, four clear of Inter Milan who have a game in hand. But having lost star man Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to PSG in January, boss Antonio Conte has cut a frustrated figure - telling media after the game that his side were doing something extraordinary as he played down the impact of the dropped points.
The former Chelsea boss said: "A missed opportunity to put pressure on Inter? No, absolutely not. We have to look at ourselves, perhaps it is another missed opportunity to get points to get to Europe. Drawing with Udinese is fine because we must not confuse the reality of the result.
"We are doing something extraordinary, trust me. And we must not confuse reality, we must do it for the area, for the fans. The boys are giving everything and came out exhausted because they wanted the victory. It is the ninth consecutive useful result, and trust me I tell you with my heart in my hand: we are doing something extraordinary."
McTominay's Scotland teammate Billy Gilmour has found game time harder to come by in Naples, and he played just nine minutes as a late substitute for Stanislav Lobotka. The 23-year-old, capped 36 times by Steve Clarke, has started just seven games since his £12m move from Brighton in the summer - with his last start coming in a Coppa Italia defeat to Lazio back in early December.
