De Bruyne has two games to end his Napoli blackout

Seven days after his penalty double lit up the win over Frosinone, the Belgian vanished against Villarreal and Venezia, missing a penalty too — just as Allegri's system built around him stopped working.

by Gennaro SanninoMonday 19 October, 07:57 CET· 2 hours ago

De Bruyne con la maglia del SSC Napoli — Foto: store.sscnapoli.it

Seven days were enough to erase the good feeling built by Kevin De Bruyne's penalty double against Frosinone (29' and 94', in the 3-0 win on 10 October). Since that night at the Maradona, the light has gone out. In Villarreal, the Belgian midfielder struggled to find a useful position to get Napoli moving, in a 3-1 defeat that left the club on zero points in the Champions League. On Saturday in Venezia came another damaging result: a poorly taken penalty in the 68th minute, saved by Stankovic, which could have levelled the game Napoli eventually lost 1-0 to a goal by Adams in the 49th minute.

The context makes it worse. Napoli have lost five of the nine official games played so far this season, and De Bruyne has widely been described as the foundation of head coach Allegri's system — a system also designed to cover a long list of midfield injuries. Anguissa, Neres and Alisson Santos have all suffered fresh injuries within minutes of returning to the pitch, the latest at the Penzo on Saturday. Asking a player who arrived at Napoli a year ago for the final chapter of his career at the top level to carry that extra load, in minutes and in positioning, has a cost — and that cost is now visible not just in his play but in his mood and his rapport with the club.

Tension behind the performances

Behind the performances on the pitch, there is tension in the dressing room too. After a difficult first half in Villarreal, words were exchanged between De Bruyne and Allegri, played down by sporting director Giovanni Manna as "bar talk". On the eve of the Venezia game, Allegri himself closed the matter.

Infastidito da De Bruyne? Assolutamente no, c'è stata un'incomprensione all'interno del campo, ma è finita lì. Kevin è un ragazzo intelligente e ha capito.

De Bruyne is not one to sulk, but he has never shied away from making his point. The same thing happened with Antonio Conte last year, over a substitution he did not welcome, in a season already limited by a serious injury.

No time to waste

The fixture list leaves no room to work through the crisis slowly. On Tuesday 20 October at 21:00 CET, Bodø/Glimt visit the Maradona in a must-win Champions League game, with Napoli still on zero points after defeats to Arsenal and Villarreal. On Saturday 24 October, Roma arrive, with the fourth-place finish declared by the club's ownership as the season's target still at stake. Both games need the De Bruyne of a week ago — the one who drops deeper to collect the ball, who does not give opponents a fixed reference point, and who splits defences with a perfectly weighted pass — not the lost figure seen in Spain and in the Venetian lagoon.

Napoli sit ninth in Serie A with 10 points from seven games, nine behind leaders Inter, and cannot afford their main creative source to stay switched off. The missed penalty against Venezia could have been the moment to restore trust with Allegri and with the team, but the tame execution and Stankovic's save complicated that too. It is now or never, starting Tuesday evening.