Massimiliano Allegri walked into the press room and heard the first question: with the injuries, the defeat to Como and Inter up next, was this still a Scudetto fight?
He’d heard that tune before.
“At Napoli it’s either over-excitement or depression, but we are only in Week 3,” he replied, shoulders loosening into a shrug. The line landed with a smile, but the message was sharp. This season is barely out of the blocks, and he is determined not to let the city spiral after one bad week.
Como defeat bites – on the pitch and in the treatment room
Napoli’s 2-1 home loss to Como at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona stung. Not just for the result, but for the collateral damage.
- Giovane limped off injured.
- Scott McTominay, already ruled out for several weeks after surgery to correct a small heart issue, watched on knowing he won’t be back any time soon.
- Alessandro Buongiorno and Luca Marianucci remain long-term absentees.
For a squad that did not spend like its rivals this summer, that is a heavy list.
Yet Allegri refused to paint it as a catastrophe.
“We’re disappointed to have lost to Como, but there must be balance, there are so many games still to be played,” he said. “We didn’t even put in a bad performance, but tomorrow is a head-to-head between the top two in the last two seasons. We go forward with confidence, then we can think about Arsenal and the Champions League.”
The calendar, oddly, gives him a sliver of comfort.
“Injuries happen, but if you think that after the break for international duty there are nine matches in 26 days, it’s better to have those injuries now so everyone can recover in time for that spell.”
It’s a brutal run looming on the horizon. Allegri wants his squad whole for that, even if it means patching things together at San Siro.
Vergara, responsibility and the limits of a thin squad
With bodies dropping, attention naturally turned to Antonio Vergara. More minutes? A bigger role?
Allegri hit the brakes.
“I don’t think we should put too much responsibility onto the shoulders of Vergara. He’s a good player, but I think only has 12 games for Napoli, so we’ve got to take it easy.”
The decision to leave him on the bench against Como raised eyebrows, but the coach pointed to the constraints.
“I made a different choice against Como, he remained on the bench because I am only allowed five substitutions. We are improving physically, I am happy with how the lads are training, now we have to make fewer errors in the matches.”
That last line cut to the heart of it. For all the talk of absences and rotations, Napoli’s downfall against Como came from two “avoidable” goals. Allegri knows that against Inter, those mistakes will be punished with far less mercy.
De Bruyne waits, McTominay leaves a hole
Kevin De Bruyne, the marquee name in this Napoli side, has yet to start a game this season. His absence from the XI has become another talking point in a city that dissects every selection.
“He is improving,” Allegri said, before steering the conversation back to the structural problem. “Naturally I need to balance out the midfield without McTominay, as this limits the options. Benoit Badiashile is in the squad, I’m pleased with what I saw in training. I cannot ask anyone else for what we get from Scott, so it’s a different player with different characteristics.”
That admission matters. McTominay is not a star in the De Bruyne mould, but he is the reference point in Allegri’s midfield – the runner, the screen, the one who knits the shape together. Without him, every choice in the middle of the pitch becomes a compromise.
De Bruyne’s minutes will grow. Allegri knows he needs his quality. But until McTominay returns, the coach is juggling profiles rather than simply picking his best players.
Back to San Siro, back into the fire
Saturday’s game at San Siro (17.00 UK time, 18.00 CEST) is loaded with subplots. Inter against Napoli. The last two Scudetto winners. Allegri returning to the stadium where Milan fired him last summer, despite his perfect record in the Derby della Madonnina against Inter.
“Playing in that stadium is always marvellous, while Inter and Napoli love to do battle,” he said. “We need a good performance with fewer technical errors, because those are costly.”
He did not dress up the scale of the task.
“Inter are the real favourites for the Scudetto. We’ve got to be more careful, as we conceded two avoidable goals against Como. Head to head clashes are always difficult to win.”
This is not bravado. It’s realism. Inter spent, strengthened and look deeper across the pitch. Napoli, by contrast, had to sell before they could buy, and never truly joined the arms race that defined the summer at the top of Serie A.
Building foundations in a season that won’t wait
Napoli’s quieter transfer window has already become a stick to beat them with. Allegri, though, refused to engage in any comparison game.
“There’s no point looking at the others, we need to focus on ourselves. I’m pleased with the squad at our disposal, we’ve got to lay the foundations now for what will be the final push of the season, taking one step at a time.”
That is the crux of his message. Strip away the noise, the injuries, the mood swings of a demanding city, and Allegri’s job is brutally simple: keep Napoli close enough to strike when the calendar turns and the title race hardens.
San Siro against the Scudetto favourites, with a patched-up squad and a restless fanbase, is hardly an easy place to start laying those foundations. But if Napoli want to be more than a team that lives between “over-excitement or depression,” this is exactly the kind of night where their new identity has to show.
