Giaccherini praises Lang's response after Champions League axe

Lang's second-half introduction against Bologna earned praise from Giaccherini on DAZN, who cast it as a direct response to being dropped from the Champions League squad days earlier.

Lang came on well, with the right attitude — a response from a player who had been left out of the squad for the Champions League three days ago.

Four days earlier, on Wednesday 9 September, Lang had been left out of the squad entirely for Napoli's Champions League opener against Arsenal, a 0-1 defeat at the Maradona decided by an Odegaard goal. The axe came at a time when head coach Allegri is still searching for balance in his side, turning Lang's cameo against Bologna into a test of the player's resilience as much as his quality.

The situation he entered was not easy. "Napoli dominated the game, but created little in the first half, especially out wide," Giaccherini said. It was on the flanks — the area that had struggled most in the opening 45 minutes — that Allegri acted at half-time, sending on Favasuli for Politano. Lang followed shortly after, completing the attacking changes that preceded Lobotka's goal in the 66th minute.

How much this will count in Allegri's future selections is still unclear. A convincing cameo is an individual data point, not a collective verdict, for a Napoli side that sit tenth after four rounds with 6 points and are still searching for a recognisable identity. The flank that struggled in the first half remains an open problem — not one solved by twenty minutes of a good impact.

Napoli's next test comes on Sunday 20 September at 12:30 CET (11:30 UK), away to Fiorentina at the Franchi. That is where it will become clear whether Lang's response is worth a starting shirt, or just one entry on Allegri's list of substitutions.