McTominay and De Bruyne fire Napoli back into Serie A title hunt

After last weekend's disappointing home defeat to Lazio, Antonio Conte demanded a response - and his side delivered immediately. Napoli created chances inside the opening minutes before McTominay broke the deadlock in the third minute, drilling home from distance after being picked out by De Bruyne.

"We always go out there to win," De Bruyne said afterwards. "Scoring early today helped us."

Napoli remained in full control, doubling their lead before half-time when Rasmus Hojlund saw his effort deflect into the net. Moments later, De Bruyne added a third after pressing high and finishing from close range following McTominay's relentless work to keep the move alive.

The match was effectively over early in the second half when Alisson Santos produced a stunning solo run from inside his own half before calmly finishing to make it four.

McTominay, who scored his ninth league goal of the season, was a constant threat and later missed a penalty, but his influence was clear. "My position is up there in midfield," he said. "I'm happy to have had so many scoring chances."

De Bruyne, named Man of the Match, admitted Napoli had to improve after their previous outing. "Last week's performance was not up to par," he said. "We are very satisfied with our win and hope to play at this level again."

Napoli's victory moves them up to second in the table, though they remain nine points behind leaders Inter Milan, who still have a game in hand.

For Cremonese, managed by Marco Giampaolo, the defeat extends a poor run of form. With just one win in their last 20 matches, they remain dangerously close to the relegation zone, narrowly ahead of US Lecce.

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