SSC Napoli bagged their first win of the league phase of the UEFA Champions League (UCL), as a Rasmus Hojlund double inspired them to a narrow 2-1 victory over Sporting CP at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Antonio Conte’s men were fluid but unspectacular in the opening half-hour, as their smart build-up led to nothing more than speculative long-range efforts that caused no problems for Rui Silva in the Sporting goal.
For a team that produces such tidy interplay, it was an uncharacteristically ugly moment that was the main flashpoint of the early exchanges, as a high, reckless challenge from Kevin De Bruyne failed to bring either a card or a VAR review. Soon, the Belgian maestro made a positive impact, as his brilliance tore the Portuguese side open at their moment of weakness.
As a Sporting attacking move broke down on the edge of the Napoli box, a quick-thinking De Bruyne danced around two opponents to open up the midfield and weighted a perfect slide-rule ball to leave Rasmus Hojlund bearing down on goal. The on-loan Manchester United striker did the rest, firmly placing his finish underneath Silva to break the deadlock.
Five minutes later, and with confidence high, the home side almost doubled their lead, with Matteo Politano dropping his shoulder and curling a shot towards the far corner, only for Silva to turn it away.
Any thoughts of the floodgates opening were soon dashed, as a sedentary opening to the second half exploded into life on the hour mark.
Politano’s game-long feud with Maximiliano Araujo had largely been happening in Sporting’s half, but it was in the Napoli box where the Partenopei captain stuck out a lazy leg and felled the Uruguayan, with half-time substitute Luis Suarez comfortably dispatching the penalty to equalise.
Having sent on the artillery of David Neres and Noa Lang, Antonio Conte would have been disappointed at his team’s lack of creativity, with the away team seeming to have wasted the best chance when Pedro Goncalves blasted over from 12 yards.
The price of the miss proved to be high, as four minutes later, history repeated itself when De Bruyne teed up Hojlund once again, with the Dane’s bravery on show as he beat the goalkeeper to the ball and nodded home the winner from a delicious De Bruyne cross.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kevin De Bruyne (SSC Napoli)
