Scott McTominay has been loving life in Italy, with the former Manchester United star now an instant hit for Napoli.
McTominay has impressed time and time again under Antonio Conte and is one of the major catalysts in the fact his new side are going for the Scudetto title.
McTominay is one of the star men and has been lauded for adapting to life in Italy so well. He can’t seem to stop winning, which is a stark contrast to the mood at Manchester United currently.
That being said, Sunday’s result was arguably the worst he’s had since the Scot linked up in Naples.
Scott McTominay and Napoli lose to Como
Napoli suffered their first defeat in 11 Serie A games on Sunday, with Cesc Fabregas’ Como side prevailing 2-1 victors.
McTominay started from the off, in a game where Napoli found themselves down after just seven minutes – thanks to a calamitous Amir Rrahmani own goal.
Conte’s side did respond just 10 minutes later. Giacomo Raspadori netted in the 17th minute after pouncing onto a loose ball with a right-footed strike that went under Como keeper Jean Butez.
But it was Como who throughout who were the more boisterous side. They played with pace and tenacity, and eventually, they were rewarded with a winner.
19-year-old Assane Diao buried a shot in the 77th minute into the bottom left corner, and Fabregas’ side held on.
The loss sees Inter Milan stay top of the league, with Napoli one point off Simone Inzaghi’s side.
Whilst for McTominay this will be a tough result to swallow, former Red Devil Raphael Varane will likely be delighted, given his affiliation with Como.
Antonio Conte comments as Napoli’s title chances dented
“It’s a defeat that hurts because of how it came about. Mentally, we’ve shown cracks, like in the last three games where we’ve always let ourselves be overtaken,” said Conte in his post-match press conference.
“The boys are giving their all, but as I always say, it takes time to grow mentally as well. Then we’ve been playing with this pressure since the beginning that fortunately we created for ourselves, being at the top of the table or at least close to it since the beginning, but it wasn’t expected.
“We have to face it in the best way, trying to understand why the others were hungrier today and more willing in the second half. When there’s this, there’s little you can do.”
Conte continued and said his side lacked “nastiness”, which contributed to the loss.
“What I’m sorry about is that in the second half we lost on hunger and nastiness. Como was much hungrier than us, to get points to stay up and beat a team at the top of the table.
“We all have to try to understand why. In the previous three games we also let ourselves be overtaken and we couldn’t cope on a mental level.
“We have to lick our wounds but it’s a shame because you can lose on a tactical level, but not on a mental level and that’s my fault because I wasn’t able to convey this thing”.
The loss means Napoli have dropped nine points in as little as four games, and have let Inter Milan right back into the race for the title – who conveniently are up next for McTominay and co.
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