Scott McTominay took his Serie A goal tally to eight for the season after inspiring Napoli to a comfortable 3-0 win over Empoli.
The Scottish star scored a superb opener before doubling his tally in the second half as the ex-Manchester United midfielder continues to show what his former club are missing.
United’s current crop are guaranteed to be the club’s worst in Premier League history as they were hammered 4-1 by Newcastle in another miserable outing on Sunday.
McTominay’s two goals on Monday night ensure the 2024-25 campaign will be his highest-scoring of his career and also created a statistic which puts Ruben Amorim’s struggling stars to shame.
No United player has more league goals than the 28-year-old – who left Old Trafford for Napoli in a deal worth £25.7million last summer – this season.
United captain Bruno Fernandes also has eight in the league but he is the only member of Amorim’s squad with as many as McTominay.
Scott McTominay scored twice to inspire Napoli to a 3-0 victory over Empoli on Monday
Ex-United star McTominay rifled home in the first half before doubling his tally in the second
Bruno Fernandes is the only United player to have scored as many league goals as McTominay this season
The injured Amad Diallo is United’s next best league performer with six, ahead of Alejandro Garnacho on five.
Scoring goals has been a consistent problem for United under Amorim as they have found the net just 38 times in the league.
McTominay, meanwhile, is enjoying a superb first campaign in Italy. The 28-year-old has become an integral part of Antonio Conte’s side as they chase the Serie A title.
It is widely believed that Erik ten Hag wanted to keep McTominay but the fee received counted as ‘pure profit’ in United’s books owing to his status as an academy graduate.
In an interview with The Athletic last week, McTominay — who made over 250 appearances during his time at United — insisted he could have been better used by his managers.
‘When I got into the first team, I was quite misprofiled in where I was playing,’ McTominay said.
‘It wasn’t the fault of any coaches. My strengths have always been getting into the box, scoring goals, being a problem in there. But I was being used as a No 6, or as a centre-back, and that has never really been my game.’
Antony, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga are among the other players to be thriving having left United.
