De Bruyne assisted Hoylen, two old players show their power

The second round of the Champions League group stage ushered in a focus showdown, with Napoli playing against Portuguese giants Portuguese Sports at home. Although the whole game was not advantageous, with De Bruyne's two precise assists and Hoylen's double score, Conte's team won 2-1 with his first Champions League victory this season.

Hoylen

data shows that Napoli only has a slight advantage in ball possession rate (51%) and shots (12-8), and even lags behind their opponents for expected goals (0.80-1.29). Judging from the scene, they did not fully grasp the initiative, but the performance of the two Manchester City veterans at critical moments became the key to changing the game trend.

In the 36th minute, De Bruyne quickly launched a counterattack after intercepting the ball in the midfield. He shook a defensive player and sent a straight pass. Hoylen got rid of the defense with his speed and strength, calmly pushed the ball to break the deadlock. In the 62nd minute of the second half, Politano fouled in the penalty area and gave the visiting team a penalty kick. Luis Suarez scored, and the score was tied to 1-1. In the 79th minute, De Bruyne showed his master's style again. He made an arc cross on the right, and Hoylen jumped high and headed the defender to help Napoli regain the lead.

This game is of great significance to Hoylen. He played for Naples and scored 3 goals in 5 games, tying his total number of goals in the last 35 games at Manchester United, showing a new state and confidence. It is worth noting that many former Manchester United players made contributions in this round of Champions League: Chelsea's Garnacho created an own goal, helping the team beat Benfica 1-0; Rashford assisted Ferran Torres to score, and although Barcelona was eventually reversed by Paris, they still showed good contributions.

de Bruyne also continued his stability and efficiency in the Champions League. He gave 2 assists in this game, won 7 confrontations, 5 regaining the ball, and created 3 key opportunities. So far, his Champions League assists reached 26 times, tying against Zidane and Iniesta, ranking fifth in the midfielder history list, second only to Giggs (41 times), Di Maria (38 times), Beckham (36 times) and Xavi (31 times).

With this victory, Naples swept away the shadow of losing to Manchester City in the first round, rekindling hope of qualifying in the group. The combination of "Old Manchester City players" of De Bruyne and Hoylen is also becoming the winning weapon in Conte's tactical system.