Mertens nets double as Napoli upset Roma

Mertens was set up for the opening goal by Marek Hamsik with a clever through ball but still needed to beat the offside trap and two defenders before chipping cleverly over Roma goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the 25th minute. The Belgian international added a second five minutes into the second half, touching in a cross from the left by Lorenzo Insigne. But Napoli had to survive an anxious final five minutes after Kevin Strootman pulled a goal back in the 89th minute and Mohamed Salah, who had hit the upright, and Diego Perotti came close to a stoppage-time equaliser with Napoli's Pepe Reina pulling off a dramatic save to ensure the points. Napoli are now back in contention for an automatic Champions League berth next season as they moved on to 57 points. Second- placed Roma have 59, seven behind leaders Juventus who play at Udinese on Sunday. RESULTS Roma 1 (Strootman 89) Napoli 2 (Mertens 26, 50) Sampdoria 3 (Fernandes 18, Quagliarella 58, Schick 68) Pescara 1 (Cerri 32) Milan 3 (Bacca 24, 70, Lapadula 82-P) Chievo 1 (De Guzman 43-P)   POINTS TABLE Teams P W D L GD Pts Juventus 26 22 0 4 38 66 Roma 27 19 2 6 33 59 Napoli 27 17 6 4 32 57 Atalanta 26 16 3 7 16 51 Lazio 26 15 5 6 16 50 Milan 27 15 5 7 10 50