Serie A | Sassuolo 0-2 Napoli: De Bruyne goal on perfect debut

SASSUOLO, ITALY – AUGUST 23: Kevin De Bruyne of Napoli controls the ball whilst under pressure from Armand Lauriente of Sassuolo during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and SSC Napoli at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on August 23, 2025 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Napoli made the perfect start as reigning Champions of Italy, conquering newly-promoted Sassuolo with goals from Scott McTominay and debutant Kevin De Bruyne.

The Partenopei began the defence of their title with De Bruyne and Lorenzo Lucca straight into the starting XI, but Romelu Lukaku was ruled out for three to four months. The Neroverdi had Edoardo Iannoni suspended, Ruan Tressoldi, Laurs Skjellerup and Kristian Thorstvedt injured.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

De Bruyne made an immediate impact, volleying over within 25 seconds, then finding Amir Rrahmani to drill wide after a corner.

It was Scott McTominay who scored the first goal of the 2025-26 season, peeling away from defenders for a glancing free header into the near top corner from eight yards on the Matteo Politano cross.

SASSUOLO, ITALY - AUGUST 23: Scott McTominay of Napoli celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and SSC Napoli at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on August 23, 2025 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) — SASSUOLO, ITALY – AUGUST 23: Scott McTominay of Napoli celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and SSC Napoli at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on August 23, 2025 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Josh Doig tested Alex Meret after a surge down the left, but McTominay almost added another on the stroke of half-time, his right-foot curler from the edge of the box smacking against the crossbar.

Domenico Berardi celebrated a new contract this week and nearly marked it with a goal, his ferocious snapshot flashing across the face of goal to skim the far post.

Napoli hit the woodwork for the second time on 55 minutes, this time Politano’s deflected effort off the post from a McTominay assist, with Lucca unable to get on the rebound.

SASSUOLO, ITALY - AUGUST 23: Kevin De Bruyne of Napoli celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and SSC Napoli at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on August 23, 2025 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) — SASSUOLO, ITALY – AUGUST 23: Kevin De Bruyne of Napoli celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and SSC Napoli at Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore on August 23, 2025 in Sassuolo, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

De Bruyne scored a goal on his Serie A debut, even if it was unintentional, because his free kick from the touchline skimmed the heads of both Lucca and McTominay to bounce off the ground and in at the far bottom corner.

Tarek Muharemovic tested an uncertain Alex Meret from distance, but Sassuolo went down to 10 men as Ismael Koné received a second yellow card for his clumsy sliding tackle on Lucca.