Dortmund skip the showers in Baku, and Napoli go there in January

Borussia Dortmund's players got on the team bus still wearing their match kit. While they waited, Kovac was taking questions at his press conference and some of his squad were at the doping test. That was how Dortmund left Sabah's stadium after winning 2-1 in Baku in the Champions League.

The German coach did not dress it up: "Nothing unexpected happened. We didn't wash here at the stadium yesterday after training either. We were advised not to use the showers at the ground and to shower at the hotel instead. That's why we were in a hurry to get back."

Sporting director Nils-Ole Book tried to sound more diplomatic and did not quite manage it. "I think the hotel showers were a bit more welcoming," he said, and soon after: "More welcoming… you can imagine for yourselves. The shower area here isn't exactly the height of elegance."

In Germany, the talk is of fears about legionella, the bacterium that can grow in standing water in pipes and is breathed in with the steam. At the hotel, Dortmund could also use the spa for recovery.

Sabah are not having it. Their striker Joy-Lance Mickels replied: "I don't know what the problem is, I don't want to make insinuations about BVB. We showered there just last week, before the game against Slavia Prague. The showers are perfect, there's even hot water."

"We were advised not to use the showers at the ground and to shower at the hotel instead."

Napoli in Baku on 20 January

This one matters to us. Sabah are on Napoli's European schedule: an away trip to Baku on 20 January, matchday seven of the league phase.

Napoli will get there after a start that has already ruined the predictions. Forecasts based on squad values said Napoli should lose only to Arsenal and City. Instead they lost 3-1 at Villarreal. The first three European points came only on Tuesday 20 October, with a 4-3 win over Bodø/Glimt in which Napoli went ahead three times and were pegged back three times.

That raises a question more awkward than the one about showers. Sabah are described as one of the softest opponents in the group. But this is a side that lost 1-0 at Venezia after 29 shots and conceded three goals to the Norwegians at the Maradona. Can Napoli really call anyone a soft opponent?

The staff will sort out the logistics in Baku. What is missing, as Allegri himself has admitted, is the ability to hold a lead and to stop feeling fragile every time the ball comes back into Napoli's half. That is the team's job to fix. And there is a lot of football to play before January.

Before Baku comes Porto v Napoli at the Estádio do Dragão on Wednesday 4 November at 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET). Before that, and more importantly, comes Roma. Gasperini's side visit the Maradona on Saturday 24 October at 18:00 CET (17:00 UK, 12:00 ET), the match the club has made the second test of Allegri's position.