McTominay: ‘Nothing to smile about, of course I’m angry’ as Napoli fall apart

Scott McTominay, a key player for Napoli, is ‘angry’ after his side suffered a 4-1 loss on the road against Porto in the Champions League: ‘There’s nothing to smile about, but we’ve had a lot of injuries.’

This result marks Napoli’s seventh loss in 14 matches across all tournaments this season, as they were beaten 4-1 by Porto in Wednesday’s Champions League encounter.

Atmosphere at the Stadio Maradona has deteriorated sharply, highlighted by a physical altercation between Lorenzo Lucca and Kevin De Bruyne during the game.

McTominay: ‘Too many’ Napoli injuries

PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: Scott McTominay of SSC Napoli celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 match between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)

McTominay opened the scoring for Napoli in the first half, but the Partenopei subsequently conceded three goals in the second period against Porto.

“Of course I’m angry. We lost 4-1 in the Champions League; there’s nothing to smile about,” McTominay told CBS Sports.

“For us, it’s go on and try to figure out how to fix it. We’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of important players you can’t change; attacking players as well. Let’s not beat around the bush; we’ve got a lot of injuries, and that makes a big difference whenever you come into play every three days.

PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: Scott McTominay of SSC Napoli celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with Kevin De Bruyne during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 match between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)

“So, things like these can make a huge difference for the team when the same players are playing over and over again. People need to understand that, but we also need to do better. First and foremost, we need to do better, injuries in football are part of it, but we have too many.”

Napoli’s on-field performance has declined, and the dressing room environment is also becoming toxic. In addition to the incident involving Lucca and De Bruyne, Matteo Politano criticized foreign players in a post-match interview, noting that only Italian players step up to address the media after defeats.

“It would be nice if a few other teammates came here to give an explanation and not just us Italians, but never mind,” the Italian said.