Massimiliano Allegri isn’t discouraged, but he gives Napoli a dressing-down

Napoli lost at home to Como, with significant regrets stemming from the excellent finish to the match, which stood in stark contrast to a first half riddled with mistakes. These are all issues that Massimiliano Allegri addressed bluntly after the match, acknowledging his team’s mistakes but reaffirming the Azzurri’s ambitions in a season still in its very early stages.

““The guys need to understand that games don’t end at the 40-minute mark—they last 95 minutes. And even with 7 minutes left, you need patience and composure,” Allegri said. “This group needs to understand that Napoli is a strong team—one that creates chances but needs to improve in certain phases of the game. I’m disappointed we lost, especially since it was our first home game and I wanted to get a positive result. But we’re only at the beginning of the season, and we need to work on improving our weaknesses. Above all, we need to be more focused at certain moments of the game, given that Como played better than us in the first half. But in those moments, we can’t let them get the better of us—games can turn around. And conceding goals happens, but it should only happen because the other team is much better.”

The match statistics also tell the story of the defeat: Como took the lead in the 17th minute through Baturina, who executed a superb stop and curling shot that Meret could do nothing about, after Diao had beaten Olivera down the wing. Hojlund equalized in the 30th minute with a brilliant individual effort, but the lead lasted just four minutes: a poorly controlled ball by Anguissa allowed Nico Paz to set up Douvikas for the 2-1 goal. In the closing minutes, Allegri brought on De Bruyne, Spinazzola, and Alisson to turn the game around, and the Belgian sparked his team to create several dangerous chances, but Kempf made key saves against the unstoppable attacking midfielder, and a goal by Lobotka was called off for offside.

The rough night came on top of an already complicated day on the transfer front. Just on Sunday, confirmation arrived that Gabriel Jesus, the Brazilian Arsenal forward identified by Allegri as the ideal offensive reinforcement, has chosen Barcelona: The former Gunner is expected tomorrow for his physical exam before signing a two-year contract with an option for a third season, for a fee of approximately 15 million euros. A deal that definitively closes the door on Napoli, which is forced to give up on a target it had openly pursued in recent weeks.

After all, the Azzurri’s transfer campaign had already been characterized by a certain restraint: Hojlund, Milinkovic-Savic, and Alisson Santos; brought in on loans with mandatory buyout clauses—Badiashile from Chelsea and Favasuli from Catanzaro; and with Lang, Lucca, and Rafa Marin returning to the club. Allegri had already tried to temper expectations on the eve of the transfer window, emphasizing that the roster was already of a high standard: “We already have some roster issues, and if a player doesn’t add something from a technical standpoint, there’s no need to force the issue.” Words that now sound like an attempt to manage the expectations of a fanbase that was hoping for more from the transfer market.

Napoli will have little time to lick their wounds, however. Before their European debut, scheduled for September 9 at the Maradona Stadium against Arsenal—the very team that snatched Gabriel Jesus away from the Azzurri and sold him to Barcelona—they face a league match at San Siro against Inter, a grueling test to gauge the team’s true ambitions. The Champions League schedule then features a series of high-profile matches: after facing the Gunners, the Azzurri will take on Villarreal on the road, Bodo/Glimt at home, Porto and Manchester City on the road, Club Brugge at the Maradona Stadium, and finally Sabah and Viking to wrap up the group stage in January. It’s a demanding schedule that makes it even more urgent to find the consistency and stability in performance that, for now—at least in the league—has been slow to materialize.