Midfielder comes off early in Champions League win as three Scottish clubs prepare for ties
Scotland internationalist Scott McTominay helped Napoli chalk up their first Champions League win of the season - although the 28-year-old was usurped by a former Manchester United teammate.
Hojlund opened the scoring on 36 minutes but Sporting battled back in the second half, earning a penalty on 62 minutes that was converted by Luis Suarez. However, Hojlund floored the Portuguese side on 79 minutes with what proved to be the winner.
Napoli's Rasmus Hojlund linked up with Kevin de Bruyne for the goals.placeholder image
Napoli's Rasmus Hojlund linked up with Kevin de Bruyne for the goals. | Getty Images
Both of his goals were assisted by ex-Man City man Kevin de Bruyne, who put in a sublime performance in midfield for Napoli. And the fact two old Manchester foes linked up to grab the win for the Italian champions was not lost on Hojlund, who took to social media afterwards to joke about their connection.
“Hojlund scores twice in the Champions League after two assists from Kevin de Bruyne was not on my 2025 bingo card,” quipped the Danish striker, who was a rival of De Bruyne’s in the Premier League and spent a season as a teammate of McTominay at Old Trafford following a move from Atalanta in 2023.
McTominay played 69 minutes for Napoli in a wide left position and had a quiet match. He made way for Noa Lang. Fellow Scotland internationalist Billy Gilmour, meanwhile, came on as an 81st-minute substitute for De Bruyne, who was cheered off the pitch by the Napoli faithful.
Clarke keeps his fingers crossed
Napoli now sit 19th after two rounds of fixtures in the Champions League and will turn their attentions to Serie A once more this Sunday when they host Genoa. Antonio Conte’s men will be looking to bounce back from Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by AC Milan, their first in the Italian top flight since winning the Scudetto last season. They are currently one of three teams at the top of the league with 12 points.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke will hope that both McTominay and Gilmour come through that match unscathed ahead of next week’s World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Belarus at Hampden.
Elsewhere in the Champions League on Wednesday, former Hibs forward Abdellah Zoubir opened the scoring as Qarabag defeated FC Copenhagen 2-0 in Baku. Zoubir, 33, is the captain of the Azeri champions and had a spell on loan at Hibs in the 2013/14 season from French side Istres.
Morten Hjulmand of Sporting Clube de Portugal battles for possession with Scott McTominay of SSC Napoli.placeholder image
Morten Hjulmand of Sporting Clube de Portugal battles for possession with Scott McTominay of SSC Napoli. | Getty Images
Paris St Germain won the battle of the Champions League heavyweights with a 2-1 victory at Barcelona. Ferran Torres converted Marcus Rashford’s cross after 19 minutes as Barcelona set a new club record in scoring for the 45th consecutive game. But reigning champions PSG levelled through 19-year-old Senny Mayulu before half-time. Substitute Goncalo Ramos rattled home a last-minute winner to delight PSG boss Luis Enrique on his return to Barcelona.
There was mixed fortune for English sides with Arsenal and Newcastle recording victories and Manchester City held in Monaco.
Arsenal maintained their perfect start in the competition with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on target in a 2-0 victory over Olympiakos. Martinelli put the Gunners ahead after 12 minutes and substitute Saka rounded off matters in added time.
Newcastle breezed to their first away victory in the competition since 2003 with a 4-0 romp over Union St-Gilloise in Brussels. Summer signing Nick Woltemade maintained his fine scoring form against the Belgian champions before Anthony Gordon dispatched two penalties and Harvey Barnes claimed a fourth.
Dier strikes late for Monaco
Eric Dier’s cool last-minute penalty earned a 2-2 draw for Monaco against Manchester City, despite Erling Haaland continuing his scintillating start to the season by scoring twice. Haaland’s double took his tally to 52 goals in just 50 games in the competition Jordan Teze’s thunderbolt levelled within three minutes of Haaland’s first goal and England international Eric Dier equalised from the penalty spot in the 90th minute.
PSV Eindhoven drew 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen and the points were also shared between Villarreal and Juventus in a 2-2 draw. Georges Mikautadze put the LaLiga outfit ahead but Federico Gatti and Francisco Conceicao turned things around in dramatic fashion. Renato Veiga, who was on loan at Juventus last season, rescued Villarreal in the dying seconds.
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Borussia Dortmund beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the other match on Wednesday night.
Attentions now turn to the Europa League and Conference League on Thursday, with three Scottish clubs in action. In the Europa League, Celtic host Braga and Rangers are away to Sturm Graz, while in the Conference League, Aberdeen are at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.