Italian legend hails Benfica for silencing Napoli star, calls him scared | OneFootball

Paolo Di Canio commented on Scott McTominay's blackout at Estádio da Luz. The former Italian player, who was considered one of the best of his generation, made some remarks about the match which ended with Benfica's victory over Napoli, and highlighted the Scottish midfielder.

"The perfect example of Napoli's mental and physical fatigue is in McTominay's attitude in those two goals. In the first one, he doesn't even jump, like someone who's afraid, when he's usually a beast," Paolo Di Canio pointed out, regarding the stance of last season's Serie A MVP in the game against Benfica.

The former striker continued: "If we notice, in the first goal they concede, he makes that little jump we see in players who are apprehensive — and that's not typical of him. He's timid, passes the ball directly to the opponent, and it ends up becoming an assist for the Benfica player."

"They drag him out of his zone, long ball, they target that area and the ball reaches his man before him and that man [Ivanovic] controls and then assists for the goal. He's late. He makes that little jump again. If we look closely, we realize it's not the McTominay we know," concluded Di Canio, who is now a commentator on Sky Sport Italia.

Remember that Benfica defeated Napoli 2-0, in a match played last Wednesday, December 10th. While Scott McTominay was off his game, Richard Ríos, the Colombian midfielder for the Eagles, was the standout of the match, scoring a goal and providing an assist.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.