Rasmus Hojlund fired Napoli to their first Champions League victory of the season with a decisive double in a 2-1 win over Sporting CP.
The Danish forward struck in each half to ensure the Partenopei got off the mark in Group action, with Kevin De Bruyne the architect behind both goals.
Napoli started on the front foot but struggled to carve out clear chances despite the influence of Leonardo Spinazzola and Matteo Politano.
Their breakthrough arrived nine minutes before the break when De Bruyne threaded a clever ball into Hojlund, who coolly dispatched his effort from the edge of the area.
Politano nearly added a second before the interval, forcing Rui Silva into a save, but Sporting emerged stronger after the restart.
The Portuguese side equalised through Luis Suarez, who sent Vanja Milinkovic-Savic the wrong way from the spot after Politano fouled Maximiliano Araujo.
Just as momentum threatened to swing away, Napoli restored their lead in style. De Bruyne rose to meet a cross and nodded into the path of Hojlund, who bravely headed home the winner.
Despite Napoli enjoying more shots overall, Sporting edged the expected goals tally (1.29 to 0.80), highlighting the clinical finishing of their former Manchester United striker.
Hojlund’s brace continued his remarkable record in the competition—three doubles in just eight Champions League outings, equalling the fastest tally in history.
His performance was matched by De Bruyne’s creativity, with the Belgian becoming only the second Napoli player to provide two assists in a single Champions League match, the last being Edinson Cavani setting up Ezequiel Lavezzi against Chelsea in 2012.
