Dries Mertens moved level with Diego Maradona in Napoli's all-time Serie A scoring list as he helped his side take a big step towards securing Champions League football for next season with a comfortable 2-0 league win at Frosinone on Sunday.
Un onore avere qualcosa in comune con il giocatore N1 al mondo, simbolo di Napoli e della napoletanità ????#81serieA pic.twitter.com/SfxA9Hh3W0
— Dries Mertens (@dries_mertens14) 28 April 2019
Carlo Ancelotti's side are almost unreachable on 70 points in second place thanks to Mertens' smart 19th-minute free-kick -- which made the Belgian Napoli's joint third-highest Serie A scorer with 81 goals -- and Amin Younes' simple finish three minutes after the break.
Frosinone meanwhile are on the edge of relegation to Serie B after the defeat, which leaves Marco Baroni's side 10 points behind 17th-placed Udinese and a further two points away from Genoa in 16th, who drew 1-1 at SPAL in a match that almost guaranteed each side's survival.
"It's an honour to have something in common with the number one player in the world, a symbol of Napoli and of Neapolitaness," Mertens wrote on Instagram.
Mertens, who has made his haul in 202 league games since arriving at Napoli in 2013, is rumoured to be leaving at the end of the season.
"I've got a year left on my contract, I like playing here but let's see what the club wants," the 31-year-old said.
With four matches remaining Napoli are eight points clear of third-placed Inter Milan, who drew 1-1 with newly-crowned champions Juventus on Saturday, and a full 14 ahead of Milan and Atalanta, who sit just outside the Champions League places both on 56 points.
Napoli's recent form has been spotty with only two wins in their last five league matches.
They are 18 points behind Juve and were knocked out by Arsenal in the Europa League quarter-finals, but will be certain of Champions League football next season if both Milan and Atalanta fail to win their respective matches with Torino and Udinese.
"It was important to send a positive signal, and we played well," said Ancelotti.
"We want to collect as many points as possible, our aim is 80."
Milan and Atalanta have a chance to move a point ahead of fourth-placed Roma, who despite a wildly inconsistent season occupy the final Champions League spot following Saturday's comfortable 3-0 home win over Cagliari.
Roma's interim coach Claudio Ranieri said that he would be "super happy" for Antonio Conte to succeed him amid speculation the club have lined up a three-year contract worth 9.5 million euros ($10.6 million) a season to tempt the former Juventus, Chelsea and Italy manager to the Italian capital.