Lack of McTominay replacement could cost Napoli in Serie A title race | OneFootball

La Gazzetta dello Sport highlights that Napoli stars André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Scott McTominay looked exhausted in a 1-1 home draw against Udinese on Sunday, confirming that Antonio Conte would have needed adequate replacements for the midfield pair.

Napoli saw Inter move one point below them in the Serie A table on Monday as the Nerazzurri beat Fiorentina 2-1 at San Siro.

On the other hand, the Partenopei had been held to a 1-1 draw by Udinese the day before, showing increasing fatigue in some of their key players, especially midfielders Anguissa and McTominay.

NAPLES, ITALY – FEBRUARY 09: Scott McTominay of Napoli scores his side first goal during the Serie A match between Napoli and Udinese at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on February 09, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

The Scotland international scored a goal in the first half but wasn’t as accurate as usual with the ball at his feet and missed a promising chance after the break.

The former Manchester United midfielder has played 21 Serie A matches, scoring six goals and providing four assists. He has also played in two Coppa Italia matches, contributing one goal. Overall, McTominay has accumulated 27 appearances across all competitions, scoring seven goals.

McTominay is among the Napoli players with the most minutes played in Serie A this season, 1795. Only Alex Meret (1836), Anguissa (2113), Amir Rrahmani, and Giovanni Di Lorenzo (2160 each) have more.

Gazzetta notes that Napoli’s lack of depth in central midfield, especially the lack of replacements for McT and Anguissa, could be costly in the title race. This is especially true because the team will meet with direct rivals Inter in less than a month.

Source: Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, February 11, 2025, page 12