Jose Mourinho concedes Roma's title challenge and congratulates Napoli for 'winning Serie A'

Jose Mourinho has congratulated Napoli for 'winning Serie A' despite the league having only just reached its halfway point of the season.

Luciano Spalletti's side currently sit 12 points clear at the top of the Italian top flight, with just one defeat, having only dropped points three times from 19 league games.

Mourinho's Roma join both Milan clubs, Lazio and Atalanta in the chasing pack, but the former Chelsea boss claimed that their hopes of catching Gli Azzurri during the second half of the campaign are already over.

Speaking ahead of his side's visit to the the club on Sunday, Mourinho claimed the title race is already over:

'I hope not to be misinterpreted but congratulations to Napoli on the Scudetto. They’ve won it. It's theirs.'

Famous for not being afraid to make a jibe at a rival club's expense, Mourinho went on to claim that the Milan clubs do not have the consistency to mount a serious title challenge this season.

'Because of the inconsistency of Inter and AC Milan, and because you sense there's no other team that can go on a six, seven or eight-game winning run, the title is theirs.

'Congratulations to the people of Naples, the players and Luciano [Spalletti], they've won the Scudetto and they’re worthy winners.'

Despite the 60-year-old's grim forecast, Roma can move to within ten points of the league leaders if they are able to become the first team to inflict defeat on Spalletti's side at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Roma have gone unbeaten in their last five league fixtures, and have lost just once on the road this season, but the absence of their suspended full-back Zeki Celik will make the prospect of pulling off the upset all the more daunting for the UEFA Conference League Champions.