McTominay Hopes To Learn From De Bruyne After They Combined To Give Napoli The Perfect Start

Written By Onyeka Daniel

Today, the 2025-26 Serie A season finally kicked off and it was the defending champions, Napoli who got things started with an emphatic win over Sassuolo away from home at the Mapei stadium, thanks to goals from Scott McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne.

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The Antonio Conte coached side couldn’t have asked for a better contribution from their best summer acquisition as the former Manchester City captain slotted straight into the starting line-up alongside Lorenzo Lucca because Romelu Lukaku was ruled out for three to four months.

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The Neroverdi had Edoardo Iannoni suspended, Ruan Tressoldi, Laurs Skjellerup and Kristian Thorstvedt injured. De Bruyne made an immediate impact, volleying over within 25 seconds, then finding Amir Rrahmani to drill wide after a corner but It was Scott McTominay who scored the first goal of the season.

He managed tk get away from defenders for a glancing free header into the near top corner from eight yards on the Matteo Politano cross in the in the 17th minute. Then Josh Doig tested Alex Meret after a surge down the left, but McTominay almost added another on the stroke of half-time.

This time around, his right-foot curler from the edge of the box smacked against the crossbar then the Naples-based club hit the woodwork for the second time on 55 minutes, this time Politano’s deflected effort off the post from a McTominay assist, with Lucca unable to get on the rebound.

It was only a matter of time before they doubled their lead, which they did in style in the 57th minute as De Bruyne scored a goal on his Serie A debut, even if it was unintentional, because his free kick from the touchline skimmed the heads of both Lucca and McTominay to bounce off the ground and in at the far bottom corner.

Tarek Muharemovic tested the Napoli keeper from distance, but Sassuolo went down to 10 men as Ismael Koné received a second yellow card for his clumsy sliding tackle on Lucca, which was enough to give the visitors enough breathing space to see out the match with maximum points.

Meanwhile, for McTominay, who win the Serie A MVP in the 2024-25 season, he has revealed that he needs ‘advice’ from De Bruyne, while the Belgian star admitted that he has to ‘adjust’ to his new club after the pair combined for winning start and a clean sheet against the new comers.

“The message for the pre-season was we need to take off where we finished last season. It was important to win against a difficult team, which was not so easy, but are hungry this year and humble in the work as well,” McTominay told DAZN in a post match interview.

Has he given any advice to his new teammate? “He doesn’t need any advice; I need advice from him,” admitted McTominay. “What a player and what a guy as well. We are happy to have him and bring all his qualities. He’s ready to go; he just came in, and it’s like he’s been here for five years.”

“He’s such a great guy. We are all together, the team spirit is the most important thing and remain humble.” The Scotland International scored the first goal in the game and received the MOTM award. He was famously given the nickname McFratm last season, as he found one for De Bruyne?

“Not yet, that will come, I’m sure,” he replied, smiling. “There are so many nicknames out there, it’s hard to even imagine what they’ll come up with for Kevin.” He further added. As for De Bruyne who scored his first Serie A goal, he had these to say in his own interview.

“It was a nice moment, I just tried to put it in the right space, a dangerous space. Nobody touched it in this case, but it’s nice when you start this way,” the Belgian said. How has he been adapting to Serie A football? “It’s a different way of working and playing. I have to adjust a bit and can do better,” he replied.

“It was a good start as a team, but I think we can play better individually and collectively. I came in and tried to look at them. They have a way of playing that I have to adjust to. They don’t have to adjust to me, and I try to get with them, try to work hard and follow what they did last year. It’s a great group.”

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“They’ve helped me settle in easily, the foreigners and the Italian guys, so I try to help them with my experience, but they teach me how they play in Italy. I think it’s going very well, but we still have to grow.” He further added as he became the oldest outfield Partenopei player to make his Serie A debut for the club in the three-point era.

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