Buononato clears Allegri of blame, but Porto tells another

Buononato clears Allegri of blame, but Porto tells another story

The long-serving Il Mattino editor expects a good result against Lazio but does not see Napoli in the Champions League. After Porto, his defence of the coach is hard to accept.

by Gennaro SanninoFriday 6 November, 07:17 CET· 6 hours ago

Lo stadio Diego Armando Maradona durante una partita di Serie A

Il Maradona in una serata di Serie A — Foto: Gaetano Capaldo · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

Napoli are in their worst spell of the season, and Franco Buononato, long-serving senior editor at Il Mattino, thinks only one person is not to blame. "Napoli are going through a very difficult period, but I believe Massimiliano Allegri is, at the moment, the only one not guilty for the situation," he said. "Allegri is doing what he can. The others, a bit less so."

We are not convinced. In Porto, the head coach made the calls. His first substitution came in the 78th minute, with Napoli already 2-1 down. Porto scored all three of their second-half goals through moves involving players who had come off the bench. Fourth place was the target Allegri set himself. It is now 9 points away, with Napoli eighth on 14. The squad is thin and badly built, which is true. That does not clear the man who picks the team.

Buononato predicts "an excellent result against Lazio, even though they are top of the table". On the season, he is blunt: "I think Napoli will not reach the Champions League, and perhaps not even the top six." Gattuso's Lazio come to the Maradona on Sunday 8 November at 12:30 CET (11:30 UK, 06:30 ET), top of the table on 28 points, double Napoli's total.