Napoli beat Bodø/Glimt 4-3 but are never safe at the Maradona

McTominay scores twice and hits the bar, and a Bjørtuft own goal on 88 minutes settles it. But Napoli concede three to a side that had more of the ball than they did.

by Gennaro SanninoTuesday 20 October, 22:59 CET· yesterday

McTominay con la maglia del SSC Napoli — Foto: store.sscnapoli.it

McTominay was the man of the night. He scored on 41 minutes from a De Bruyne assist to make it 2-1, hit the crossbar on 60 and scored again on 75, set up by Politano, for 3-2. That is two goals and the woodwork in a match Napoli had to rebuild twice and won in the end through an own goal. It worked out. It did not go the way it should have.

A perfect start, then a fight

It began as well as it could. Politano scored in the first minute from Spinazzola's pass, and the Maradona settled in for a comfortable evening. It did not get one. On 27 minutes Hauge, set up by Fet, equalised, and from then on Bodø/Glimt never went away.

McTominay's goal before half-time put Napoli back in front, but the second half followed the same script. On 62 minutes Helmersen, again from a Fet assist, made it 2-2. That came two minutes after McTominay hit the bar and two minutes after Lobotka came on.

McTominay's second, on 75 minutes, looked like the turning point. Allegri went to his bench straight away, sending on Olivera, Beukema and Giovane between the 79th and 80th minutes. The fourth goal came on 88 minutes, an own goal by Bjørtuft. Even that did not finish it. On 90 minutes Fet, who already had two assists, scored to make it 4-3, and Napoli spent the final minutes hanging on. Anguissa, Lang and Di Lorenzo were all booked, a sign of a match Napoli felt slipping away more than once.

The numbers

The statistics confirm what the stadium could see. Napoli had 43% of the ball to Bodø/Glimt's 57%, and won two corners to their five. Napoli had more shots, 17 to 15, and more on target, 8 to 6. They shot more and scored more, but the visitors had the ball more often.

Napoli went ahead four times and were pegged back, or nearly, three times. With this squad, in the Champions League, that is not how the fanbase expects to win. It comes in a week when the coach is already under scrutiny for a style of play that is hard to see.

What it leaves

Napoli take three points in Europe, which was the only thing that mattered on Tuesday 20 October, and a double that puts McTominay back at the centre of the side. They also leave with the feeling that they need four goals to win a game.

Next up in the Champions League is a trip to Porto. Before that, Roma visit the Maradona in the league on Saturday 24 October at 18:00 CET (17:00 UK, 12:00 ET), and that will be a different test.