Napoli beat Bodø/Glimt 4-3 but the defence lets in three at the Maradona

Fet had a hand in all three Norwegian goals. Napoli kept going ahead and kept letting Bodø/Glimt back in, and that problem did not start in the Champions League.

by Gennaro SanninoTuesday 20 October, 23:39 CET· yesterday

Napoli-Bodo Glimt Tre gol dal Bodø Glimt in casa: la vittoria non chiude il discorso sulla difesa — Grafica Arena Napoli

The name that matters most from this 4-3 is not a Napoli player. It is Fet. He set up Hauge on 27 minutes, set up Helmersen on 62 and scored himself on 90. One Bodø/Glimt player made or scored all three away goals, and nobody managed to take the ball off him all night.

That is the verdict on the match. Napoli won, and the win matters for their progress in the competition. But they conceded three goals at home to a side that had more of the ball (57% to 43%), had 15 shots with 6 on target and won 5 corners to Napoli's 2. That is not what a team in control looks like.

Three leads, three wobbles

The sequence tells the story. Politano put Napoli ahead in the first minute and Bodø/Glimt equalised on 27. McTominay restored the lead on 41 and it was level again on 62. Napoli went ahead a third time on 75, then Bjørtuft's own goal made it 4-2 on 88. With a two-goal cushion, they still conceded on 90.

Two equalisers let in and a goal conceded once the game was settled: three times a lead was not defended. Anyone who watched the 3-1 at Villarreal and the 1-0 at Venezia will recognise the pattern. The only difference this time was the ending, because McTominay scored twice up front and also hit the crossbar on 60 minutes.

A bench reacting, not leading

The substitutions point to a coach chasing the game more than running it. Anguissa, booked on 48 minutes, went off on 60 for Lobotka. On 79, Politano and Spinazzola came off. They were the two who had combined for the opening goal, and they were still on the pitch when Napoli led 3-2 on 75.

Bodø/Glimt made five changes between 76 and 84 minutes and scored their third goal soon after. Di Lorenzo was booked on 86: even the captain had to stop a run with a foul in the closing stages. On their own these are details. Taken together, they show the Norwegian side played the last quarter of an hour better.

What it means for Allegri

That is the point for anyone debating Allegri's position, and in the city that debate is happening openly. A 4-3 home win does not answer the questions about style or intensity. Napoli won because 17 shots and 8 on target produced enough goals to cover the three they let in.

The fanbase is not asking for 4-3 wins. It is asking for a team that does not wobble every time it goes ahead. After two defeats in a row, this win does not change the verdict on that. It only lifts morale, which is a different thing.

Porto away is next in the Champions League, and with defending like this, the challenge is obvious. First comes Roma, at the Maradona on Saturday 24 October at 18:00 CET (17:00 UK, 12:00 ET), one of the teams this season should be measured against. If Napoli arrive at that game still in the habit of letting opponents back in after taking the lead, McTominay's goals will not be enough to hide it.