Del Genio: Napoli's 2 xG by half-time proves a new level

The pundit reads Napoli's first-half expected-goals tally against Frosinone as proof of a step forward, and defends Kevin De Bruyne from recent criticism.

by Gennaro SanninoSunday 11 October, 22:31 CET· 2 hours ago

Del Genio: «Il Napoli era già a due gol attesi al 45', ora questo atteggiamento deve restare» — Grafica Arena Napoli

Paolo Del Genio broke down Napoli's 3-0 win over Frosinone on Saturday 10 October by pointing to a number produced before half-time: two expected goals, a 2 xG return that, for him, said more about Napoli's superiority than any post-match comment could.

It wasn't a throwaway statistic. Staying in the opposition half, Del Genio argued, the chances keep coming - and Napoli now believe that themselves.

His reading of the second half was one of pure game management. Allegri made his changes at the right moment, though without closing the game out immediately: Frosinone still built some chances of their own, and the third goal - the one that made it 3-0 - came only late on. Del Genio did not gloss over that detail: the win was clear on the scoreline, but not without moments worth watching.

De Bruyne, enough of the sloppiness

The player Del Genio picked out as his best on the pitch was Kevin De Bruyne, who scored the penalty that opened the scoring in the 29th minute. For the pundit, the Belgian had already been Napoli's best player against Bologna too, only then "not everyone had noticed it so clearly" - a direct way of saying the midfielder has been discussed with too little care in recent weeks.

How much sloppiness there has been towards him.

Del Genio then widened his view to Napoli's football philosophy, writing that he had seen Allegri, together with his staff, reach the conclusion that Napoli must match the football of the big clubs.

That is a claim worth weighing carefully. The mandate the ownership gave Allegri, under a contract running to 30 June 2029, talks about finishing fourth and taking a step forward in the Champions League, not about the title. Raising the bar to "the football of the big clubs" after a single big win, in a season that had already put the bench under scrutiny, is a legitimate ambition to pursue - but one still to be proven, not banked after one match.

Del Genio's closing line read more like an appeal than a verdict.

Now let this attitude continue.

That applies to the rest of the season, which has produced three straight positive results after an uneven start. But it applies above all from Tuesday 13 October, when Napoli leave the Maradona for the Estadio de la Cerámica. Against Villarreal in the Champions League, the big-club attitude will have to be shown away from home, not against a side fighting for survival.