Gonzalo Higuain bagged a brace as Napoli moved to the top of Serie A with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Inter Milan on Monday.

Higuain, who leads the league with 12 goals, netted in the second and 62nd minutes to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. Adem Ljajic pulled a goal back for Inter, who hit the woodwork twice in the final minute.

Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from the match.

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Napoli hosted Inter Milan in a top-of-the-table Serie A match at the Stadio San Paolo on Monday night.

It didn’t take long for the home side to take the lead, Gonzalo Higuain scoring within two minutes.

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Diego Costa’s days at Chelsea could be numbered after he threw his training bib at manager Jose Mourinho, according to former Blues goalkeeper Mark Bosnich.

Having been benched for Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, Costa took off his warm-up bib and threw it in Mourinho‘s direction after it had become clear in stoppage time that he would not be used, per the Independent‘s James Orr.

It is not the first time this season that the Brazil-born striker has clashed with his manager, and Bosnich believes Costa could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge before long, per Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast (via talkSPORT’s Alex Varney):

It didn’t look good. Generally when you are with a manager and you do that type of thing, it is the beginning of the end. 

Not going out for the warm-up, I can understand that completely, but throwing the bib at the manager during the game points to one way. 

They probably won’t do it immediately but I really do think it is the beginning of the end, which is really unfortunate because he has been a smash hit since he has been at Chelsea.

Costa has been poor for the Blues this season and significantly less effective in front of goal than he was in 2014-15, per Sky Sports News HQ:

His lack of goals has been a major cause of Chelsea’s malaise in the current campaign as the defending champions have struggled near the bottom of the table—they currently lie 14th.

Rumours of Costa potentially being shipped out of the club have been circulating for some time, per Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones:

If he continues with his off-field antics and fails to repair his relationship with Mourinho, he could well be on his way out of the club.

Chelsea will need to line up an appropriate replacement if they are to ship Costa out as his current backups in the squad include the out-of-form Radamel Falcao and the underused Loic Remy.

Meanwhile, the Blues have reportedly entered the race to sign Genoa‘s 18-year-old star Rolando Mandragora.

Currently on loan at Serie B side Pescara, the midfielder looks an impressive talent, and Chelsea have joined West Ham United, Inter Milan, Juventus, AC Milan and Roma in targeting Mandragora, per Italian outlet Calcio Mercato (via Metro‘s Max Miller).

The Blues may struggle to snap up the young Italian given the number of top Serie A sides pursing him, but he could be a fine long-term addition in west London with Chelsea needing some added verve in their squad.

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Live Updates: Serie A

Napoli vs. Inter Milan

Join Bleacher Report for live updates from Serie A as Napoli host Inter Milan on Monday in a top-of-the-table clash. Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET), and our updates will begin about 30 minutes beforehand.

Follow @MiguelCominguez

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Liverpool target Denis Cheryshev is reportedly eager to seal a loan move away from Real Madrid in the winter transfer window in order to have more first-team opportunities.

The Los Blancos winger has played only 33 minutes in La Liga this season and is some way down the pecking order under manager Rafael Benitez, per WhoScored.com.

According to Hugo Cerezo of Spanish outlet Marca, the Russian international “will push for a loan move” in January, and Liverpool are one of the clubs interested in signing him up—along with Everton and Villarreal.

The report indicated that a key motivation for Cheryshev to temporarily move away from the Bernabeu is so he can get more game time and compete for a place in the Russian squad for the summer’s Euro 2016 in France.

He showed last season while on loan at Villarreal that he can be a major asset both in front of goal and as a creator. He netted four La Liga goals and provided nine assists in 26 appearances, per WhoScored.

With the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Christian Benteke and Danny Ings all regular injury concerns at Liverpool, Cheryshev could be a fine addition to the Reds’ attacking line, bringing depth and quality.

He would also be highly motivated to prove himself, not only because he wants to get into the Russian squad, but also to stake a claim for more regular action at Real.

The 24-year-old is a product of the Real youth system but has yet to truly make an impact at senior level.

Playing for Liverpool in the Premier League could give him a chance to improve and show off his talents while also benefiting the Merseyside outfit by giving manager Jurgen Klopp added options in attack in the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, Liverpool may also reportedly go in for Barcelona full-back Martin Montoya in January if the Spaniard’s current loan spell at Inter Milan is, as expected, cut short next month.

Per Italy’s Corriere dello Sport (h/t Aaron Flanagan in the Mirror), the Reds were interested in signing Montoya, 24, in the summer and could go back in for him if he returns to Barcelona.

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Arsenal reportedly see Porto’s Ruben Neves as the man to ease their midfield woes in the January transfer window and are reportedly ready to part with £22 million to land the impressive teenager.

That’s according to Daniel Cutts of the Sun, who writes manager Arsene Wenger feels he needs to add some depth to the defensive midfield position after the recent injury to Francis Coquelin and that Neves could “help reignite the Gunners’ faltering title charge.”

Here’s a look at why Neves, just 18 years old, may be viewed as a potential immediate solution for the Gunners in the January window:

Indeed, there’s plenty to like about the Porto man. Stylistically, Neves is a perfect fit for Arsenal, as he possesses the technical qualities needed to move the ball quickly and into the right areas. But it’s his defensive attributes that would really make a difference to the Gunners, especially with the dynamic Coquelin leaving a massive void in the side.

As Arsenal blogger MC noted, the Frenchman is a player who can’t be replaced by current personnel in the group:

Neves would definitely add some depth and quality to this area. While he may be young, the Portuguese has a mature head on his youthful shoulders. Already, he has played at the highest level, starring for Porto in the Champions League, and he’s captained the team too. That’s a remarkable indicator of the teenager’s talent and temperament.

His outstanding quality was acknowledged recently as well, per Porto’s official Twitter feed:

If Arsenal can get a deal done in January, it’d be a coup. Neves may be untested in the Premier League, but he’d add youth, quality cover and leadership to a squad on which those qualities are pretty scarce. However, with their own ambitions to fulfill in 2016, it’d be a big surprise if Porto were to entertain the prospect of a sale midseason.

Arsenal Eye Mauro Icardi

Another area of the Arsenal squad that supporters have concerns over is up front, so perhaps it’s little surprise to see the Gunners linked with a move for Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi.

Fichajes (h/t Jamie Sanderson of Metro) claims Arsenal are considering making an offer for the young forward, who has impressed at the San Siro in recent seasons. Wenger is reportedly “convinced Icardi would suit Arsenal’s style of play,” although a hefty transfer fee of £35 million is mentioned.

Icardi is certainly an intriguing player and a fine goalscorer. Here are the kind of moments that will have attracted the attention of clubs such as Arsenal and Chelsea, whom Sanderson also cites as possible suitors:

After a tremendous 2014-15, in which Icardi netted 22 league goals, this term has been a little more of a struggle for him. So far, he’s bagged just four in 11 for Inter, although the Nerazzurri are well in the hunt for the Serie A title this season, with Icardi fulfilling a more disciplined role at the point of the attack.

As we can see here courtesy of OptaPaolo, overall, the Argentina international has been tremendously consistent in front of goal:

Previously, Icardi seemed to cast doubts over a possible move to England, though, per Mediaset (h/t Football Italia): “England? There’s always a lot of talk, but I’ll stay here, as I said last year. I’m also the captain, and I can’t leave a team that’s doing so well.”

For Arsenal, it doesn’t seem like a deal that will come to fruition. Icardi is a key part of an Inter team that spent big in the summer in an attempt to become Serie A challengers once again, and selling their star forward would undo a lot of the recent progress they’ve made. If Wenger wants to bolster his goalscoring options, he’ll most likely have to look elsewhere.

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Something good is happening at Atletico Madrid.

There have been times this season when things haven’t gone well. Neither Jackson Martinez nor Fernando Torres seemed to be able to find the net.

The defence, a key base for Diego Simeone to build his side from, looked weaker without Miranda, who joined Inter Milan in the summer.

Filipe Luis looked a different player after returning from a year away with Chelsea. And not in a good way.

Antoine Griezmann even stopped performing well, with the attacker short of goals, only netting one in seven games between October 21 and November 22.

There were disappointing results and poor performances, such as in the draws with Deportivo La Coruna and FC Astana, and the narrow win over Sporting Gijon.

But it seems like things are slowly clicking into place for Atletico.

They will be happy with how the league table is looking after their 1-0 win at home over Espanyol on Saturday.

Barcelona are top on 33 points, and Atletico are the next team behind them on 29.

Atletico still have tougher fixtures ahead of them, having hosted Barcelona and Real Madrid and needing to head to the Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabeu in the second half of the season.

But they are improving while their city rivals Real are faltering.

Los Blancos were defeated by Sevilla and then thrashed 4-0 at home by Barcelona before nearly throwing away a 4-0 lead against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, escaping with a 4-3 win.

There are doubts about manager Rafa Benitez in Madrid, as reported by Sky Sports’ Guillem Balague, and his team has looked confused, playing below their potential.

Atletico have taken advantage, shutting out their opponents for five games on the trot in all competitions and winning four of those games.

They have caught up with Benfica at the top of their Champions League group despite losing at home to the Portuguese side on Matchday 2.

Now Griezmann is back among the goals, and he impressed again against Espanyol.

Although the final score saw Atletico win by just a single goal, the difference between the teams was huge.

This is encouraging for Simeone’s side and something they must build on in the coming weeks.

Following a trip to Catalonia to face Reus in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, they travel to Granada and Benfica in their next two games.

After that, they host Athletic Club and then Reus in the return Copa clash before finishing their year with trips to Malaga and Rayo Vallecano.

Five away games and just two at home means the rest of 2015 won’t be comfortable for Atletico, but there isn’t a single game among those fixtures they shouldn’t win.

There have been plenty of promising signs during the previous couple of fixtures, and they were present against Espanyol.

For one, they look a lot more capable of handling dangerous, skilful attackers such as Marco Asensio. The Espanyol man barely had a sniff on Saturday.

The defence has composed itself, and Juanfran’s return from injury along with an improved Filipe Luis are bonuses.

Oliver Torres, one of the star performers against Espanyol, was rightfully pleased after the game. He said, per AS: “We know the importance the game had. We were lucky to score an early goal and we are content. Our defensive solidity is what we have to carry on, it’s this that makes us strong.”

One blow was seeing Tiago go off injured with what was later revealed to be a broken leg, per UEFA. It’s speculated the Portuguese midfielder could be out for the rest of the season, which would be a major setback for an Atletico side looking to maintain its recent upturn in form.

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