"Gazzetta dello Sport" wrote an article saying that although the chemistry between De Bruyne and McTominay, the midfield duo of Naples this season, still needs to be perfected on the court, their relationship off the court has become extremely close, which is largely due to the deep friendship quickly established between their partners.
According to reports, the two former Manchester derby rivals are now not only teammates, but also privately neighbors because both families have chosen to live in the same quiet private park in Naples.
Their partners, Michel Lacroix (De Bruyne's wife) and Cam Riding (McTominay's girlfriend), became inseparable in just a few months. During the national team game days, they traveled to Capri together and often visited the food together. De Bruyne and McTominay are often seen together and have even been photographed watching their partners' paddle tennis matches together.
However, the harmony off the court and the tacit understanding on the court have not yet been fully synchronized. This "bulldozer" combination, which had high hopes, failed to continue to produce a linkage effect after both scoring in the first round. Coach Conte changed to a 4-1-4-1 formation in order to play the roles of both players at the same time, but the results were mixed.
De Bruyne is in hot form. He has contributed 6 goals and 4 assists in the club and national team, and his average expected goals per game is as high as 0.33. McTominay has only scored 1 goal for Naples this season, and his performance is far inferior to last season.
According to the article analysis, there are two reasons why McTominay is struggling. First, he missed the entire summer's pre-season preparations for some reason and failed to get in touch with the team's tactics; second, the absence of center Lukaku caused him to lose the space for attacking from behind, which he is best at.
Many of his 12 goals last season were due to Lukaku's tactical containment. However, the article also pointed out at the end that McTominay still has enough time to find the best way to partner with De Bruyne on the court.
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