De Bruyne's Olimpico assist reopens the question over his Napoli role

At the Olimpico, Belgium used Kevin De Bruyne in a way Napoli have not shown for a while. Van Bommel gave him pure creative duties: he drifted inside, dropped deep to collect the ball, distributed it, and then timed the pass that sent Godts through to score. Not a holding midfielder — a free playmaker.

The 1-1 draw in Florence (Gilmour, 23rd minute; Jiménez, 51st) left Napoli ninth with 7 points after five matchdays. That result is also behind Allegri's own thinking about a possible switch from the 4-3-3 to a 3-4-2-1 during the break. A different shape would mean, among other things, rethinking the space given to a player like De Bruyne, who performs better without rigid positional constraints.

The same script applies to Højlund. The Dane has also been given, by his own national team, a freedom of movement he does not get at Napoli. In Serie A he has instead been among the most criticised in recent matches, touching and receiving few balls in the box against Genoa and Inter, never in a position to carry the team as a genuine centre-forward.

The question that follows is uncomfortable, and it should be asked directly: if two players, different in role and characteristics, perform better elsewhere when given more freedom, the problem starts to look more like the system than the individuals. And whoever designed that system — a 4-3-3 that Allegri has gone along with so far to fall in line with De Laurentiis's thinking, as reported in recent days — is more accountable for it than the players on the pitch.

The break ends and the test comes straight away: on 10 October, at the Maradona, against Frosinone. It will be the first match to show whether what was seen at the Olimpico in a Belgium shirt stays a missed opportunity, or becomes a signal Allegri actually acts on.