What a shame: Napoli concede six in Eindhoven

Napoli and Antonio Conte will have a lot to remember — because they’ve never experienced such humiliation! PSV Eindhoven completely shattered them. Only fragments of the Italian team were left on the Philips Stadion pitch — ashamed and humiliated: 6–2 (2–1). Strange, almost unbelievable things happen sometimes. Yes, last season Napoli were focused solely on Serie A, they could concentrate on one competition — but that’s not what this is about. Antonio Conte has always been known as a coach who knows how to “lock up” a game. Sometimes one goal is enough for him and that’s it. But in recent weeks, that hasn’t been the case.

The defense is porous. Sporting came back, Pisa came back. Their cheeks are burning, their ears ringing from six goals conceded, and they still have to face their controversial owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis. That won’t be pleasant — not at all. And to make things even stranger, things didn’t go badly for Napoli at first. In fact, the beginning was quite good. Vanja Milinković-Savić stopped a shot from Denis Man, diving like a cat to cover the corner, and midway through the first half, Scott McTominay showed signs of life. The Scottish midfielder has been heavily criticized since the start of the season, as he hasn’t been at the same level as last year when he was Serie A’s MVP. He flicked in a header from a Leandro Spinazzola cross to open the scoring. McTominay did it once more — but that was near the end, when his team was already destroyed…

Everything that happened between McTominay’s two goals — and after the second one — was extremely painful from Napoli’s perspective. They had no idea where the blows were coming from or how to defend against PSV. The home team played as if in a trance; at moments, it looked more like a video game than a Champions League match. The collapse began with a cross from Ivan Perišić on the left wing that led to an own goal by Alessandro Bongiorno, and Conte was already feeling sick after the counterattack finished by Ismael Saibari.

He had no idea what kind of catastrophe awaited him at the Philips Stadion, but when Denis Man tapped the ball in from close range and Lorenzo Lucca received a straight red card, Conte could already see PSV charging relentlessly and how the rest would unfold. The Romanian fired a rocket just minutes after Napoli were reduced to ten men. Vanja Milinković-Savić spread his arms helplessly — just as powerless when Ricardo Pepi slotted the ball into the net. Maybe he could have done better on Chuba Drios’s strike, but by then, everyone was crushed.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 3

Tuesday

Barcelona - Olympiacos 6-1 (2-0)

/Fermin Lopez 7, 39, 76, Yamal 68 pen, Rashford 74, 79 - El Kaabi 54 pen/

Kairat - Pafos 0-0

Arsenal - Atletico Madrid 4-0 (0-0)

/Gabriel 57, Martinelli 64, Gyokeres 67, 70/

Copenhagen - Dortmund 2-4 (1-1)

/Anton 34 og, Dadason 90+1 - Nmecha 20, 77, Bensebaini 61 pen, Silva 87/

Leverkusen - PSG 2-7 (1-4)

/Garcia 38 pen, 54 - Pacho 7, Doue 41, 45+3, Kvaratskhelia 44, Mendes 50, Dembele 66, Vitinha 90/

Newcastle - Benfica 3-0 (1-0)

/Gordon 32, Barnes 71, 83/

PSV - Napoli 6-2 (2-1)

/Buongiorno 35 og, Saibari 39, Man 54, 80, Pepi 87, Driouech 89 - McTominay 31, 86/

St. Gilloise - Inter 0-4 (0-2)

/Dumfries 41, Lautaro 45+1, Calhanoglu 53 pen, Esposito 76/

Villarreal - Manchester City 0-2 (0-2)

/Haaland 17, Silva 40/

Wednesday

19.45: (1.35) Ath.Bilbao (5.50) Qarabag (10.0)

19.45: (1.57) Galatasaray (4.10) Bodo (5.80)

22.00: (1.45) Atalanta (4.50) Slavia Praha (7.00)

22.00: (1.18) Bayern (7.75) Club Brugge (13.0)

22.00: (1.25) Chelsea (6.50) Ajax (10.5)

22.00: (5.10) Eintr.Frankfurt (4.70) Liverpool (1.63)

22.00: (2.90) Monaco (3.45) Tottenham (2.40)

22.00: (1.48) Real Madrid (4.50) Juventus (6.75)

22.00: (2.25) Sporting (3.80) Olympique Marseille (3.15)

***odds are subject to change***