Scott McTominay Napoli omission explained as Scotland pal Billy Gilmour plays key part in epic with AC Milan

Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay ended a 25-game run of Serie A starts for Napoli - but Antonio Conte’s men managed to prevail without him with an important 2-1 win over AC Milan on Sunday night.

McTominay, who has been one of Napoli’s star players this season in their bid to reclaim the Serie A crown from current champions Internazionale, returned to Napoli having played Scotland’s Nations League play-off matches against Greece over the past fortnight. However, he was unable to take his place in Antonio Conte’s starting XI due to illness, with Italian media reporting that the 28-year-old is suffering from flu-like symptoms.

Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour set up Romelu Lukaku for his Napoli goal against AC Milan. | AFP via Getty Images

His Scotland teammate Billy Gilmour - who also played both matches against the Greeks - stepped up to the plate though, excelling in Napoli’s midfield and setting up one of the goals in a mature performance.

The pressure was on second-placed Napoli after leaders Inter had defeated Udinese 2-1 earlier in the day at home, but Conte’s side rose to the occasion in front of a sold-out Diego Armando Maradona Stadium against an AC Milan side that is languishing in mid-table. As a result, the gap between Napoli and Inter remains at three points, while Gli Azzurri stretched their advantage over third-placed Atalanta to six points after they were beaten 1-0 by Fiorentina in Florence.

Napoli raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Matteo Politano and top-scorer Romelu Lukaku inside 19 minutes, but were made to sweat in the second half when Sergio Conceicao’s Rossoneri staged a fightback. They missed a penalty before halving the arrears with five minutes to go to set up a frantic finish, but Napoli held on.

Beautiful Billy Gilmour assist

Politano smashed Napoli into a second-minute lead when he latched on to a Giovanni di Lorenzo pass and finished smartly past AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan and then Rangers academy graduate Gilmour came into the fold, setting Lukaku free with a beautifully-weighted pass on 19 minutes for the Belgian to lift the ball home.

Milan had been poor in the first half but came out rejuvenated after no doubt some harsh words from Conceicao. They were awarded a penalty on 69 minutes when Philip Billing was adjudged to have fouled Theo Hernandez in the box, but substitute strike Santiago Gimenez saw his effort held by Napoli keeper Alex Meret.

Gimenez did get his goal on 85 minutes, tapping into an empty net from close range after Hernandez had squared the ball to the Mexican, and despite piling on the pressure in the closing stages of the match, Napoli held on to what could be a massive win come the end of the season. Milan remain in ninth place in Serie A and face an uphill battle even to finish in the Champions League positions.

Scott McTominay is reported to be suffering from flu-like symptoms. | Getty Images

Napoli will hope that McTominay recovers from his illness in time for their next Serie A match, which is against Bologna a week on Monday. The midfielder will no doubt want to come up against his Scotland teammate and Rossoblu captain Lewis Ferguson, who helped his side break into the top four with a 1-0 win away at Venezia on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Scottish midfielder Liam Henderson played 71 minutes for Empoli in their 1-1 draw with Como, while Scotland striker Che Adams will hope to start for Torino when they take on Lazio on Rome on Monday night.