Serie A champions show fresh tricks in opening win but Milan suffer at hands of Schwarzenegger-inspired defender
T
he new Serie A season was 17 minutes old and already it had started to look like the previous one: Matteo Politano crossing and Scott McTominay scoring, just as they did in Napoli’s title-sealing victory over Cagliari three months ago. Even their positions were practically identical, the Italian cutting in from the right as the Scotsman attacked the six-yard box.
McTominay’s finish was less dramatic this time around, a header instead of a scissor-kick, but he dispatched it with equal conviction. Serie A’s Most Valuable Player in 2024-25, scoring the league’s first goal of 2025-26. “Winning the Scudetto changes nothing,” he had said in one interview earlier this month. “We need to recapture and maintain that mentality we found last year.”
Talk about living your values. McTominay led by furious example, covering ground and menacing Sassuolo’s defence. After scoring, it was he who broke up the Neroverdi’s attempted response, he who took the next shot and he again who rattled the crossbar with an effort from outside the box. McTominay later attempted to return the favour for Politano with a low centre, but his teammate’s shot was deflected on to a post.
