Former Manchester United star Scott McTominay made his presence felt during and after Napoli's 1-1 draw with Copenhagen in the Champions League
Scott McTominay
Scott McTominay didn't hold back after Napoli's draw with Copenhagen(Image: SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images)
View 4 Images
Scott McTominay escaped the wrath of the Italian media following Napoli's "unacceptable" draw with Copenhagen.
The Serie A side's Champions League future is hanging by a thread after they were held by the Danish champions, who were reduced to 10 men when Thomas Delaney was dismissed on 35 minutes. Former Manchester United midfielder McTominay soon put the visitors ahead with his fourth goal in five games, only for Copenhagen to salvage a point through a Jordan Larsson strike 18 minutes from time.
Most of the team, including United loanee and former Copenhagen striker Rasmus Hojlund, came in for criticism from the Italian media. However, McTominay was widely regarded as the team's standout player, with both Il Messaggero and Gazzetta giving him a top-of-the-class 7/10.
Rome-based Il Messaggero said he was "absolutely decisive," adding: "He grew as the minutes went by and broke the deadlock, confirming his key role in the Champions League."
The same title gave Hojlund, who was surprisingly booed by the home fans, 5/10 and said he "struggles too much." Meanwhile, Corriere Della Sera said of Hojlund: "He came close to scoring several times, but as the minutes passed, he grew nervous."
Scott McTominay heads Napoli in front against Copenhagen
McTominay heads Napoli in front against Copenhagen(Image: SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images)
View 4 Images
Viewers also made their feelings clear, with McTominay being voted player of the match on the Eurosport website with 59 per cent of the vote. That will have been of little solace to the 29-year-old, who pulled no punches about the performance.
He told Sky Sport Italia: "We should have won that game, it's unacceptable. We should have scored the second and third goals to close out the game, even if it was a difficult surface. It's really disappointing that we didn’t.
Scott McTominay celebrates heading Napoli in front against Copenhagen
McTominay celebrates his latest goal(Image: SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images)
View 4 Images
"We’ve had a lot of injuries, but we’ve still tried to improve game by game. The subs have come on and done well, but we have to do even better."
The draw left Antonio Conte's side 23rd in the 36-team league, with Wednesday's games and one more full round of action to come before the knockout stage.
Rasmus Hojlund
It was a night to forget for Rasmus Hojlund(Image: AP)
View 4 Images
Teams finishing outside the top 24 will be eliminated, meaning Napoli must win their final league match against Chelsea next week to be sure of a place in the play-off round.
McTominay added: "Obviously, this game has just ended and we have to look at the mistakes and try to improve. Chelsea are an excellent team. We have to try and give everything to improve in the Champions League. We have to be at our best."