Napoli beat Frosinone 3-0 but questions over Allegri's style persist

De Bruyne's penalty and a quick second goal from Lang settled the game before half-time, but a quiet, game-managing second half keeps the debate about Allegri's football and press conferences open.

by Gennaro SanninoSaturday 10 October, 23:20 CET· 3 hours ago

Napoli-Frosinone Un 3-0 con argomenti veri, ma su Allegri la domanda resta aperta — Grafica Arena Napoli

Napoli controlled this game from the first minute to the last. One shot on target was conceded all afternoon, and goalkeeper Milinković-Savić made only one save. De Bruyne put Napoli ahead from the penalty spot in the 29th minute, and Lang made it 2-0 three minutes later, in the 32nd. The scoreline finished 3-0, built on 18 shots in total, seven of them on target against Frosinone's one, and six corners won. Anyone arguing this week that Napoli's football has been sterile has to reckon with those numbers: on Saturday 10 October, Napoli created chances, and did so throughout the match.

But the opponent matters too. Frosinone sit on 10 points after six games, ninth in the table — a mid-table rival, not a big name to be knocked down to prove a point. Napoli move up to 10 points as well but stay seventh, with Inter on 16, Roma and Lazio on 13 and Cagliari on 12 above them, all currently playing a different level of football. Beating a team at your own level at home is what the table demands, not a result that settles the debate about a difficult start to the season.

Comfortable, not spectacular

In the second half the game was managed rather than played. Five substitutions were made by each side between the 46th and 83rd minutes, and two late bookings went to Rrahmani and Badiashile. Frosinone committed 12 fouls to Napoli's eight without ever creating a real threat. It is the picture of a team that, having taken the lead in the first half, chose to control the ball and the clock rather than keep pushing. That is fair enough with a 3-0 lead in hand, but it is also exactly the kind of second half that feeds those who question the team's approach to football: plenty of solidity, not much of a show after the break.

The question for Allegri

The issue is not whether Napoli deserved the win — they did, comfortably. The issue is whether this victory answers the questions the fanbase keeps asking Allegri about his football and his press conferences, and the honest answer is: only partly. Against a Frosinone side level with them in the table, never really threatening, total control of the game was close to a given. The sterner test comes on Tuesday 13 October, away to Villarreal in the Champions League, where the context changes and Saturday's certainties will be tested on a pitch that will not forgive the low-intensity management seen in the second half against Frosinone.