Allegri furious with Lucca over wasted late breakaway

Napoli's head coach didn't fully enjoy the final whistle against Bologna: on the last action of the game, Lucca broke clear on goal but lost his race with the defender, sending the bench into fury.

by Rosaria CimminoTuesday 15 September, 21:21 CET· 2 hours ago

Massimiliano Allegri — Foto: Original: Quirinale / Derivative work: Danyele · Attribution

Full time in Napoli's 1-0 win over Bologna gave Allegri his first victory after three straight defeats. It wasn't the celebration he wanted. The last act of the game spoiled it.

On the final meaningful ball of the match, Lucca broke clear towards the Bologna goal, sent through on the counter-attack with the score already settled at 1-0 through Lobotka. The striker lost his race with the defender marking him, wasting the chance to see out the game with more composure. From the bench, Allegri erupted — not over the result, but over how that moment was handled.

This is not the first time Allegri's frustration with Lucca late in games has surfaced. The head coach had already admitted losing his temper with the striker, while describing the tension he felt throughout the match.

There was always this half-fear of not getting the result.

The new detail is the exact sequence: a wasted counter-attack that could have sealed the game instead of leaving it open until the 90th minute.

Napoli snapped a run of three straight defeats — to Como and Inter in Serie A, and Arsenal in the Champions League — to take three points at the Maradona after a difficult few weeks. The table offers little comfort: Napoli sit 10th with 6 points from four games. The next fixture is set for Sunday 20 September, 12:30 CET, away to Fiorentina at the Franchi.