Three standout performers of Napoli’s 2-0 Supercoppa Italiana victory over Bologna

David Neres stole the headlines after his brace in Napoli’s 2-0 Supercoppa Italiana final victory over Bologna on Monday night, but several other Napoli players have earned individual praise in Tuesday’s papers back in Italy. 

Napoli finished 2025 with their second trophy of the calendar year, pairing the Scudetto with the Supercoppa for the first time since Diego Maradona and his teammates 35 years ago in 1990. 

This was Antonio Conte’s 11th major trophy as a head coach and his second since taking over at Napoli. He now has three Supercoppa Italiana successes on his CV, adding to the two that he won with Juventus in 2012 and 2013. 

The Brazilian is a man in red-hot form: That’s six goals in his last eight appearances between Serie A and the Supercoppa Italiana, including three in his two outings in Saudi Arabia. 

La Repubblica describes him as ‘the joy of football’. Tuttosport says that he drove Jhon Lucumi, Vincenzo Italiano and the whole of Bologna crazy. La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote that Neres was unplayable on the night. 

The former Manchester United striker has earned praise for how he has gone about his business since coming in to replace Romelu Lukaku over the summer. He now has 10 goal involvements in 19 appearances this season, seven of which are goals, and will soon have the Belgian back to relieve some of the goalscoring pressure. 

He also put in a particularly encouraging performance against Bologna on Tuesday night. La Gazzetta dello Sport writes that the only thing missing from his display was a goal. Tuttosport described his display as a performance in Lukaku format. 

The 31-year-old was as reliable as ever against Bologna on Monday night. Though he is not often among the goals or assists, he is the one that keeps the Napoli midfield ticking. 

Tuttosport writes that Lobotka’s impressive performances are not always immediately obvious, but that he is the most fundamental cog in Conte’s system. La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that he ‘didn’t misplace a pass’ on Monday evening.