Napoli’s promising start in Eindhoven turned into a complete capitulation, as Antonio Conte’s side fell to a 6-2 defeat against PSV in the Champions League after Lorenzo Lucca was sent off in the second half.
With Rasmus Højlund, Romelu Lukaku, Amir Rrahmani and Stanislav Lobotka all sidelined, Conte handed a return to Scott McTominay, who had recovered from an ankle injury. PSV, winless in Europe before the night, fielded several familiar faces from Serie A — including Ivan Perišić, Jerdy Schouten, Sergiño Dest and Dennis Man.
Despite no incidents of violence, local police detained and expelled over 200 supporters before kick-off.
Napoli opened the scoring through McTominay, who powered in a header from Leonardo Spinazzola’s cross — his first European goal for the club. But their advantage lasted only a few minutes, as a dangerous Perišić delivery was deflected into his own net by Alessandro Buongiorno in a moment of defensive chaos.
From there, the hosts took control. Ismael Saibari ran half the length of the pitch to slot past Vanja Milinković-Savić, completing a rapid turnaround. After half-time, PSV added a third when Mauro Júnior pulled the ball back for Man, who finished neatly through Sam Beukema’s legs.
Napoli never recovered their composure. Guus Til went close for PSV before Buongiorno blocked another Man effort, but the floodgates soon opened again. Lucca, already frustrated, was shown a straight red card for dissent — a decision that effectively ended Napoli’s hopes of a comeback.
With the visitors reduced to ten men, PSV ran riot. Man struck again with a fierce drive that caught Milinković-Savić off guard, before McTominay briefly reduced the deficit with a close-range header from a David Neres corner.
Any thoughts of a late fightback were quickly quashed. Couhaib Driouech outpaced Giovanni Di Lorenzo down the flank and squared for Ricardo Pepi to make it 5-2, before Driouech himself unleashed a thunderous strike from distance to seal a stunning 6-2 victory.
