McTominay meets Conte's demand and lifts Napoli level with Serie A leader Inter

ROME (AP) — A few weeks ago when Napoli was struggling for goals and its title hopes were fading, coach Antonio Conte told Scott McTominay the team needed more from the midfielder.

The Scotland international got the message.

McTominay’s late header secured a 1-0 win at last-placed Monza on Saturday to pull Napoli level with Serie A leader Inter Milan. It was his third goal in two games.

McTominay evaded his marker to redirect a cross from Giacomo Raspadori in the 72nd minute for his 10th goal across all competitions for Napoli this season.

“We just have to keep doing our job, keep winning. At the business end of the season that’s what you got to do,” McTominay said. “It’s getting that level every game. We have a coach who is very, very demanding who expects that from us every game. So for us it’s about pressuring Inter Milan and seeing where that gets us.”

Napoli struggled for long periods and Matteo Politano failed to finish off a big chance moments before McTominay's score.

“These are games that look easy on paper but there’s so much on the line that the pressure is enormous,” Conte said.

Napoli’s win places pressure on Inter ahead of its visit to in-form Bologna on Sunday.

“It’s unexpected and extraordinary,” Conte said of being in the title race with Inter. “We want to keep bothering them.”

Five rounds remain after this weekend.

“We know we have to be at a higher level than this for the last five games," McTominay said. "But at the end of the day it comes down to if you win.”

McTominay joined Napoli in August in a 30.5 million euros ($35 million) transfer from Manchester United, where he had been since the age of five, and at 1.93 meters (6-foot-4) he has made a big impact in the Italian league with his aerial prowess and physical presence.

McTominay also scored twice last Monday in a 3-0 win over Empoli to end a run of more than two months without a goal for Napoli — including when the Partenopei failed to win a game throughout February.

“He’s helping us a lot. He’s a great player. But we knew that," Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. "What maybe we didn’t know was what type of impact he would make right away. We’re enjoying it. He’s an extraordinary kid.”

Raspadori energized Napoli when he went on in the second half and also provided the through ball for Politano's chance.

Napoli is chasing its second Serie A title in three years after finishing 10th last season.

Roma's unbeaten streak reached 17 matches and stretched past four months after beating visiting Hellas Verona 1-0.

Eldor Shomurodov scored four minutes in at the Stadio Olimpico, finishing off from close range following strong work from Matias Soule’.

Earlier, 13th-placed Como won at relegation-threatened Lecce 3-0 for its third straight victory — virtually assuring Cesc Fabregas’ team of a second consecutive season in the top flight for the first time since the 1980s.

Argentina talent Nico Paz led the way again by setting up Como’s opener for Assane Diao. Edoardo Goldaniga doubled the advantage with a header and Diao added another in stoppage time.

Lecce remained two points above the drop zone.

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Roma's Eldor Shomurodov celebrates scoring during the Serie A soccer match between Roma and Hellas Verona at the Rome's Olympic stadium, Italy, Saturday April 19, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Lecce's Ylber Ramadani, right, and Como's Nico Paz challenge for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Lecce and Como 1907 at the Via del Mare Stadium in Lecce, Italy, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Giovanni Evangelista/LaPresse via AP)

Como's head coach Cesc Fabregas gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Lecce and Como 1907 at the Via del Mare Stadium in Lecce, Italy, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Giovanni Evangelista/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Assane Diao celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Lecce and Como 1907 at the Via del Mare Stadium in Lecce, Italy, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Giovanni Evangelista/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Romelu Lukaku gestures, during the Serie A soccer match between Monza and Napoli at U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy, Saturday April 19, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay, right, and Monza's Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro in action during the Serie A soccer match between Monza and Napoli at U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy, Saturday April 19, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Scott McTominay scores during the Serie A soccer match between Monza and Napoli at U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy, Saturday April 19, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — NATO foreign ministers on Thursday debated an American demand to massively ramp up defense investment to 5% of gross domestic product over the next 7 years, as the U.S. focuses on security challenges outside of Europe.

At talks in Antalya, Turkey, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that more investment and military equipment are needed to deal with the threat posed by Russia and terrorism, but also by China which has become the focus of U.S. concern.

“When it comes to the core defense spending, we need to do much, much more,” Rutte told reporters. He underlined that once the war in Ukraine is over, Russia could reconstitute its armed forces within 3-5 years.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio underlined that “the alliance is only as strong as its weakest link.” He insisted that the U.S. investment demand is about “spending money on the capabilities that are needed for the threats of the 21st century.”

The debate on defense spending is heating up ahead of a summit of U.S. President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts in the Netherlands on June 24-25. It's a high-level gathering that will set the course for future European security, including that of Ukraine.

In 2023, as Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine entered its second year, NATO leaders agreed to spend at least 2% of GDP on national defense budgets. So far, 22 of the 32 member countries have done so.

The new spending plan under consideration is for all allies to aim for 3.5% of GDP on their defense budgets by 2032, plus an extra 1.5% on potentially defense-related things like infrastructure — roads, bridges, air- and sea ports.

While the two figures add up to 5%, factoring in infrastructure and cybersecurity would change the basis on which NATO traditionally calculates defense spending. The seven-year time frame is also short by the alliance’s usual standards.

Rutte refused to confirm the numbers under consideration, but he acknowledged that it's important to include infrastructure in the equation, “for example to make sure that bridges, yes, are there for you and me to drive our cars but also if necessary to make sure that the bridge will hold a tank. So all these expenditures have to be taken into account.”

It’s difficult to see how many members would reach a new 3.5% goal. Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain are not even spending 2% yet, although Spain does expect to reach that goal in 2025, a year past the deadline.

The U.S. demand would require investment at an unprecedented scale, but Trump has cast doubt over whether the U.S. would defend allies that spend too little, and this remains an incentive to do more, even as European allies realize that they must match the threat posed by Russia.

“There is a lot at stake for us,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said. He urged his NATO partners to meet the investment goals faster than the 2032 target "because we see the tempo and the speed, how Russia generates its forces now as we speak.”

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said his country should reach 2.5% by 2027, and then 3% by the next U.K. elections planned for 2029.

“It’s hugely important that we recommit to Europe’s defense and that we step up alongside our U.S. partners in this challenging geopolitical moment where there are so many precious across the world, and particularly in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

As an organization, NATO plays no direct security role in Asia, and it remains unclear what demands the Trump administration might make of the allies as it turns its attention to China. The last NATO security operation outside the Euro-Atlantic area, its 18-year stay in Afghanistan, ended in chaos.

Cook reported from Brussels, and Fraser from Ankara, Turkey.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte talks to journalists as he arrives for a NATO's informal meeting of foreign ministers in Antalya, southern Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy talks to journalists as he arrives for a NATO's informal meeting of foreign ministers in Antalya, southern Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

NATO foreign ministers pose for a group photo during their informal meeting in Antalya, southern Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan talks to journalists as he arrives for a NATO's informal meeting of foreign ministers in Antalya, southern Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, talks to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during an informal meeting of NATO's foreign ministers in Antalya, southern Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte talks to journalists as he arrives for NATO's informal meeting of foreign ministers in Antalya, southern Turkey, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint press statement with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio departs a lunch between President Donald Trump and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)