Napoli finally have lift-off in the Champions League after Scott McTominay scored twice in a wild 4-3 win over Bodø/Glimt in Naples on Tuesday night. Matteo Politano struck inside a minute and McTominay twice put the hosts ahead, before an Odin Bjørtuft own goal settled a seven-goal thriller — Sondre Fet's stoppage-time header setting up a finish as frantic as everything that came before it.
Politano's lightning start, and a familiar wobble
Massimiliano Allegri's side arrived pointless after defeats by Arsenal and Villarreal, and started like a team that knew it. After just 54 seconds Politano volleyed in Leonardo Spinazzola's cross for 1-0, the perfect start Football Italia's liveblog described as the hosts finally taking control of a European night. But Bodø/Glimt are nobody's victims in this competition — they beat Borussia Dortmund last week — and on 27 minutes Jens Petter Hauge levelled from Sondre Fet's pass.
Napoli's response came from their most reliable European source. On 41 minutes Kevin De Bruyne threaded a through ball and McTominay finished, via a deflection, to restore the lead at 2-1, the goal sequence set out in the Bundesliga.com liveticker. It was the platform Napoli needed — and still the night refused to settle.
McTominay again, an own goal, and a grandstand finish
Andreas Helmersen equalised for Bodø on 63 minutes, again teed up by Fet, and for a moment the Maradona feared another collapse of the kind dissected in the analysis of Napoli's Champions League problems after the Villarreal defeat. Instead McTominay rose to head in Politano's cross on 75 minutes for 3-2, and when Bjørtuft turned the ball into his own net on 88 minutes the game looked over.
It was not. Fet headed in Bjørtuft's cross in the fourth minute of added time to make it 4-3, and Napoli — who had also collected yellow cards for Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Frank Anguissa and Noa Lang — were relieved to hear the whistle. There were no red cards, and the visitors even edged possession at 56 per cent: this was a shoot-out, not a siege.
Napoli's defending will give Allegri nightmares even in victory. His side scored four and still needed an own goal to stay clear of opponents who finished with more possession, more corners and five efforts on target in Naples. Alex Meret made only two saves all night, yet the hosts conceded three — a ratio that explains why, for all their attacking talent, Napoli's European campaign has lurched from one scare to the next.
So what: Napoli off the mark, Bodø stuck on three
Napoli's first win lifts them to three points and into the top 24 — the play-off places — after starting the night bottom of the pile with zero. In a league phase this tight, the difference between tonight's win and another defeat was the difference between a campaign and a crisis, particularly with the Villarreal collapse still fresh in the memory.
Bodø/Glimt stay on three points, level with Napoli but behind on the night's evidence of how fine the margins are: the Norwegians scored three times away to a Serie A giant and lost. Their play-off hopes remain alive, but five goals conceded across the Bayern and Napoli away trips is the problem Kjetil Knutsen must solve.
Beyond the Final Whistle: forget the tactics board — this was about Napoli's heartbeat. Twice pegged back, staring at a third straight defeat, they kept going forward and McTominay, again, was the man who refused to lose. Allegri will hate the defending and love the defiance in equal measure, and three points at last gives this expensively assembled side something to build on. Can Napoli turn this chaos into a run, or are they simply built for nights like this? Let us know in the comments.
