De Laurentiis wants face-to-face talks with Allegri after Porto defeat

Aurelio De Laurentiis wants to see things for himself. The Napoli president is expected back in Naples on Friday 6 November to meet Massimiliano Allegri and the squad. He wants to talk to the coach one to one, then check the mood of the dressing room in person.

Two days after the 4-1 defeat at the Dragão, Porto's stadium, the atmosphere is tense. Thursday was a day of one-to-one meetings between the return journey and the travel that followed. The talks continue on Friday, and De Laurentiis may join the squad meeting himself.

He has good reason to worry about where the season is going. Napoli are eighth in the league with 14 points from 10 games, 9 behind fourth place, the target Allegri set himself. The last two matches brought a 2-0 defeat in Turin and the 4-1 in Porto.

The cracks the president will find

If De Laurentiis walks into the dressing room, he will not find a united group. In Porto, De Bruyne and Lucca clashed on the pitch. Politano vented about the Italian players being the ones who show their faces. Højlund publicly contradicted the coach. More than one account claims that Allegri does not have every player on his side. We have already covered the scenes at the Dragão. What is new is that the president wants to check them in person rather than rely on what he is told.

The obvious question is what one more meeting can change. There were already meetings on Thursday. Allegri has been saying for days that it is time for actions, not words. But the actions of the last two games are these: in Turin the match fell apart late on, and in Porto Napoli held out for a half and then conceded three goals from the 71st minute. Talking in a room at Castel Volturno or a hotel in Pozzuoli has not fixed the corners conceded or the substitutions made when the game was already gone.

The president is right not to settle for other people's versions. But a meeting only makes sense if it leads to a decision. If it only holds the group together for one evening, it is not enough.

There is also the question of responsibility. Allegri answers for his choices and the team's performances. Manna answers for a squad that has eleven players unavailable for Sunday's game and that took the field at the Dragão without a specialist full-back. The sporting director's position is also less secure than it was a few weeks ago. Putting everyone in the same room may help. The risk is that it becomes yet another post-defeat ritual, done to show that something has been done.

Lazio next

Lazio visit the Maradona on Sunday 8 November at 12:30 CET (11:30 UK, 06:30 ET). They top the table with 28 points, exactly double Napoli's total. It is the last game before the international break, and for Allegri it is a turning point.

What De Laurentiis hears from the coach and the players on Friday will count for little. What counts is what Napoli do on the pitch on Sunday.