When Napoli needed their Scottish talisman most, he delivered in a way that left Neapolitan jaws crashing to the floor in disbelief.
As half-time approached, the Stadio Maradona was wracked with desperate nerves in an atmosphere that could not have been more different to the city-wide carnival that took place ahead of kick-off.
With Inter leading in Como and Cagliari holding firm, Napoli were on course to throw away the title.
The moment that followed will doubtless be frozen in time on the walls of this ancient city before long. Maybe even by the end of the night.
With a defender for company and his back to goal, Scott McTominay leapt in the air and fired home a bicycle kick. Tension gone, party restarted, club icon status secured.
It was a masterpiece to match the artwork that draped down over the Curva B before kick-off with a message for the players: ‘We have painted this year together…. now only the signature is missing and the work of art is complete!’
The Napoli supporters have taken Scottish midfielder McTominay to their hearts this season
Napoli supporters who could not get into the ground watched on big screens in the city
McTominay signed it with a flourish and 45 minutes later, after Romelu Lukaku had made sure, the moment this city had been waiting for arrived.
A collective roar, from the sold-out stadium to the hundreds of thousands watching in the city on big screens, whipped around the Bay of Naples and out into the Mediterranean Sea. A roar that proclaimed: Napoli are champions of Italy again.
Not only champions, but champions with a Scottish heart. McTominay and Billy Gilmour ran the engine room for Napoli and guided them over the line to become the first Scottish men to be crowned Serie A champions. Not as passengers, but as drivers.
McTominay’s name, his number, his ‘McFratm’ nickname and his face were ubiquitous around Naples due to the hero status he’s acquired in the season of his life.
The 28-year-old’s 12 goals and six assists – a league record in a debut season for a midfielder – were the driving force behind Napoli’s run, and his tendency to score in deadlocked games had already earned him another affectionate sobriquet – the apribottiglie, or bottle opener.
Gilmour had to bide his time. After playing just 20 minutes of football between November and March, he took advantage of Franck Anguissa’s injury to make a strong impression in a rare start against Inter – a 1-1 draw that now looks momentous – and never looked back.
Scott McTominay broke the deadlock with a stunning scissors kick against Cagliari
The playmaker has featured in every game since and was on the team sheet again for the biggest night of the season with Stanislav Lobotka still out injured.
In the sun-soaked and seemingly endless hours before kick-off, Naples seemed to have cast aside any lingering superstitious fears or concerns well in advance of the curtain coming down on the season.
The historic centre of the city was awash with flags, banners and posters triumphantly heralding the new champions of Italy. Enormous tricolour Scudetto shields with the number four on them hung above the narrow, winding streets.
A group of young lads busied themselves wrapping green, white and red ribbons around a railing at the bar they ran in anticipation of one of the biggest parties the city has ever seen.
Billy Gilmour almost opened the scoring but was denied by a good save from Alen Sherri
Tens of thousands flooded the streets, from the centro storico to the Quartieri Spagnoli and all the way out to Fuorigrotta and the stadium, blaring horns, singing songs, lighting blue flares, waving banners.
Motorini scooters zipped unlikely paths through the masses, beeping horns and heaving with boxes of beer.
One group even contributed to the party by handing out posters from the window of their car of veteran winger Pedro Rodriguez – scorer of both Lazio goals in a 2-2 draw against title rivals Inter Milan last week. His image was mocked up as a saint and the ‘protector of Naples’.
It was a festival. Calcio Coachella. But, beneath it all, no matter how much the locals wanted to act like this was a foregone conclusion, there was a job to do.
Napoli went into the game one point ahead of defending champions Inter, whose game at Como was due to kick off at the same time.
They knew a win would be enough. They knew Cagliari had nothing to play for. Yet, winning is something they had found harder and harder to do as the finish line came into sight, drawing against Genoa and Parma in their previous two games.
A fast start would be welcome, then. An early goal, even better.
That was what Napoli set out to do, putting Cagliari under pressure from the off, goalkeeper Alen Sherri denying both Gilmour and Amir Rrahmani during a strong opening quarter-hour from the hosts.
Scott McTominay celebrates after his stunning goal gave Napoli the lead before half-time
Romelu Lukaku struck early in the second half to make it 2-0 and ease the Napoli nerves
One thing they didn’t have was encouragement on the sidelines from Conte, who was suspended after being sent off a week earlier and was forced to watch from afar.
Then came news from the north. Inter were in front and, as things stood, were on course to leapfrog Napoli and win the league. A nervous hum settled over the stadium.
As half-time drew near and butterflies began to flutter in Neapolitan guts, their newfound idol performed his most heroic act yet.
Holding off a marker as he leapt in the air, McTominay acrobatically scissor-kicked home a finish that blew the roof of the Stadio Maradona.
Further north, Como goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who was playing in his final game before retirement, was sent off to hand Inter a huge advantage.
That couldn’t dampen spirits in Naples. McTominay’s magic had put the Maradona into full party mode once again now they were in front against a Cagliari side whose players had been kept up all night with fireworks outside their hotel.
The bottle opener indeed. Once the cork was out, there was no stopping the flow.
Lukaku was at his vintage, bulldozing best as he doubled up early in the second half to give Napoli a cushion and substitute David Neres could have, and probably should have, made it three.
Inter were also 2-0 up, but it was irrelevant now. They could do what they wanted. This was a night for the Neapolitans, a night where it didn’t matter that the sun had set as the sky would be lit up with fireworks and flares regardless.
