McTominay Shines as Napoli Secures Victory Against Qarabag
Scott McTominay played a pivotal role in Napoli's hard-fought 2-0 victory over Qarabag, enhancing their chances of advancing to the Champions League knockout stage on the fifth anniversary of Diego Maradona's passing.
McTominay opened the scoring in the 65th minute, heading the ball past Qarabag goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski from close range. Just seven minutes later, his acrobatic attempt was inadvertently turned into an own goal by defender Marko Jankovic.
Earlier in the match, Rasmus Hojlund had a penalty saved nine minutes before McTominay's first goal, leading the Manchester United loanee to apologize to the home fans as he was substituted after a sixth consecutive game without scoring.
In a lackluster first half, Napoli's best chance came when David Neres attempted a bicycle kick reminiscent of McTominay's style in the 35th minute; however, Kochalski made an impressive save.
Qarabag, who previously defeated Benfica and drew with Chelsea this season, had a few early opportunities but primarily focused on frustrating the hosts.
In the 56th minute, Napoli was awarded a penalty when captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was fouled, but Kochalski managed to save Hojlund's shot, diving to his left.
McTominay finally broke the deadlock by reacting quickly to a save, nodding home the opener. Following this, a flurry of chances ensued, including Hojlund heading wide from a corner and Neres striking the crossbar, before McTominay's misdirected shot was deflected into the net by Jankovic.
Napoli supporters paid tribute to club legend Diego Maradona, chanting his name in the 10th minute to honor his shirt number.
Having won just one of their first four league phase matches, Napoli's victory elevates them to 18th place in the standings with seven points, while Qarabag drops to 16th, also with seven points.
Looking ahead, Napoli will travel to Lisbon to face Jose Mourinho's Benfica on December 10 at 20:00 GMT, while Qarabag will host Ajax the same day at 17:45 GMT.
Catch highlights of every Champions League match starting at 22:00 on Wednesday through BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
Additionally, a Champions League Match of the Day will air on BBC One on Wednesday from 22:40 to 00:00.