In 2021, they celebrated together the greatest title in Italian football wearing the Inter jersey, and by the end of this year, they could do it again, this time wearing the blue of Napoli. And it would truly be an extraordinary achievement, both for Lukaku and for Conte.
From the beginning of the season, all the predictions and expectations favoured Simone Inzaghi’s Inter. Yet Matteo Politano and his teammates never stopped believing.
Now they’re right there, fighting point by point, despite the massive technical gap between the two teams, and a winter transfer window that only widened that gap further.
This past weekend, Inter cruised past Lecce thanks to goals from Marko Arnautovic, Lautaro Martinez, and Yann Bisseck (Roberto Piccoli’s goal resulted in being meaningless). Napoli responded with a confident and dominant 3–0 win away at Empoli. It was a match with no real story to tell, completely one-sided. Two goals came from Scott McTominay and one from Lukaku, who was also decisive on the opening goal with a brilliant backheel that opened the way to the net for the former Manchester United midfielder.
McTominay a dazzler
McTominay, another player who’s never played at such a consistently high level, is now shining in Serie A. He has always shown flashes of dazzling talent, but in Italy he’s proving to be truly dominant. That could be down to two different factors: 1. Serie A is not at the same level as the Premier League, something that surprises no one. 2. Conte is the perfect coach for the 28-year-old Scotsman, who is currently among the best in his role in the Italian top flight.
Today, however, the spotlight is all on Romelu Lukaku. His relationship with Conte is well-known and special. The Italian coach is crazy about the Belgian, and once again, this time from the Napoli bench, when it came to choosing a player to lead his attack, he went straight for the striker who wore the Roma jersey last season. In the first half of last season, Lukaku had scored plenty, carrying Roma for months.
But he faded during the crucial stretch of the campaign. A real shame for the Giallorossi.
Now, though, he seems back to being decisive, as he once was, with Napoli. Of course, he's no longer as fast, agile, or explosive as he was four or five years ago, but opposing defenders still find it incredibly difficult to mark him.
Most of the time, they can’t stop him from scoring, or at least from being dangerous. Lukaku has already collected 11 goals this season, not a huge number by his standards, but what stands out are his eight assists. That’s a lot. Combined, his direct contributions total 19 goals. After the departure of Kvaratskhelia, someone needed to step up and lead the team, and it appears that someone is Lukaku.
Napoli enjoy better title run-in
There aren’t many matches left between now and the end of the season, and in each one, goals will weigh twice as much. Mistakes are no longer allowed. Every goal could potentially be worth a title. These are the moments when champions are called upon to make the difference.
As we already wrote a few weeks ago, the fixtures awaiting the two title contenders are far from equal. Quite the opposite, in fact. Inter faces significantly tougher matches.
And even though Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri currently lead the table by three points, that difference in difficulty could give Napoli an important psychological edge, especially since they no longer have any cup competitions to distract them.
The next six league games will decide everything, perhaps even the future of Antonio Conte, a coach not exactly known for starting long-term projects or staying in one place for too many years. But we're ready to experience this thrilling finale. Lukaku will have to carry Napoli forward, and judging by his performance against Empoli, he may indeed be the man who makes the difference between now and the final whistle of the season.
He has already delivered a Scudetto to Conte in the past, and he could do it again. Napoli is dreaming, and Lukaku will be eager to make that dream come true, side by side with his mentor.