Napoli's Hojlund nets double in 2-1 win over Sporting
Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Napoli v Sporting CP - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - October 1, 2025 Napoli's Rasmus Hojlund celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
NAPLES, Italy :Napoli striker Rasmus Hojlund netted twice either side of a Luis Suarez penalty to secure a 2-1 home win over Sporting on Wednesday and kick-start the hosts' Champions League campaign with their first points of the competition.
It was a much needed win for Napoli, after losing to Manchester City in their opening game and falling to a 2-1 defeat at AC Milan in the league on Sunday, and in a game lacking quality, Hojlund and Kevin De Bruyne made the difference.
"The start in the Champions League was difficult, we also lost to Milan and we wanted to show our character," Hojlund told Sky Sports.
"Today we played a great game against the champions of Portugal."
Despite plenty of attacking promise from both sides early on, there were no real scoring opportunities until Napoli netted in the 36th minute, the goal coming from a clinical counter-attack which left Sporting chasing shadows.
Kevin De Bruyne played a defence-splitting pass for Hojlund to run onto, and after taking the ball into the area the Napoli striker coolly slotted his effort through the legs of keeper Rui Silva.
"De Bruyne is a legend of this sport," Hojlund added.
"When he has the ball I know that with his quality he will always put it perfectly for me."
Minutes later, Matteo Politano attempted to curl a shot inside the upright but Silva parried the ball away for a corner to keep Sporting in the game going in at the break.
Sporting made two changes at the start of the second half, with striker Suarez coming on, along with midfielder Pedro Goncalves, but they struggled to find a way back into the game until Politano fouled Maximiliano Araujo in the area.
SPORTING DRAW LEVEL
Suarez stepped up to level from the spot in the 62nd minute and the shellshocked hosts took some time to recover while Sporting created chances and Goncalves put an effort over the bar.
Napoli regrouped and were back in front 11 minutes from time with De Bruyne and Hojlund again combining.
De Bruyne sent in a cross from the left and the Danish forward got to the ball before the onrushing keeper to steer a glancing header into the net.
Sporting almost snatched an added-time equaliser but Vanja Milinkovic-Savic made a reflex save to keep out Morten Hjulmand's header and the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona crowd could breathe a sigh of relief when the final whistle came.
Both sides now have three points, after Napoli's 2-0 loss at City while the Portuguese club began with a 4-1 win over Kairat Almaty.
