Napoli 2-1 Sporting CP: Hojlund at the double as Conte's men win in Europe
A Rasmus Hojlund brace secured Napoli's first win of their Champions League campaign as they beat Sporting CP 2-1.
Rasmus Hojlund scored a vital brace as Napoli recorded the first win of their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 success against Sporting CP.
The Serie A side dominated the opening exchanges but created little in the way of chances, despite some neat interplay between the likes of Leonardo Spinazzola and Matteo Politano.
However, Napoli would take the lead nine minutes before half-time as Kevin De Bruyne slid a pass through for Hojlund, with the ex-Manchester United striker making no mistake from the edge of the box.
The Partenopei went close to scoring again ahead of the interval, with Politano seeing an effort saved by goalkeeper Rui Silva, but Sporting improved following the restart.
And when Politano fouled Maximiliano Araujo inside the area, Luis Suarez tucked away the resulting penalty, sending Vanja Milinkovic-Savic the wrong way to level the match.
Yet the Napoli winner came from the same combination again as De Bruyne's header was met with a brave Hojlund header to earn the points.
Data Debrief: Hojlund continues impressive Champions League record
Despite Napoli securing the victory and amassing more shots, it was Sporting who generated the most xG with 1.29 compared to the Italian side's 0.80. Hojlund's finishing was the difference then.
Despite United's struggles in Europe in the 2023-24 season, the striker impressed in the group stage when last in this competition, twice netting a brace. He therefore has three doubles in his first eight Champions League appearances, a joint-record.
Hojlund was helped by De Bruyne, with this just the second time a Napoli player has assisted his team-mate twice in the same Champions League match. The previous pairing saw Edinson Cavani tee up Ezequiel Lavezzi against Chelsea in February 2012.
