Napoli beat Monza 4-1 with three goals after the break

Pegged back to 1-1 just before half-time, Allegri's side pulled away through Politano, Rafa Marín and a substitute De Bruyne. But Monza still found the target five times, and Juventus are next on Sunday.

by Gennaro SanninoWednesday 28 October, 22:45 CET· 2 hours ago

De Bruyne con la maglia del SSC Napoli — Foto: store.sscnapoli.it

Napoli won 4-1 at Monza, and they won it in the second half. Højlund gave them the lead, Monza drew level just before the break, and then Politano, Rafa Marín and De Bruyne scored in the space of 19 minutes.

It started well. In the 10th minute Di Lorenzo found Højlund, who made it 1-0. Gilmour came on in the 17th minute, a very early change. Napoli kept the ball, and in the first half Monza were noticed mostly for their bookings: Goglichidze in the 8th minute, Jurić in the 25th.

The same old script

Monza equalised in the 43rd minute. Robinson set it up and Varela scored. He is the Monza striker Napoli have been watching. The lead had lasted until two minutes before half-time.

The fanbase's main charge against Allegri is exactly this: that his side cannot manage a lead. Nobody wanted to see it again. After a half played with the ball at their feet, Napoli went in level and the game was open again.

A second half that changed everything

Marianucci came on at the restart, and in the 48th minute Politano put Napoli back in front at 2-1. On 62 minutes Politano turned provider, setting up Rafa Marín for the third. A centre-back on the scoresheet.

In the 63rd minute Allegri made a double change, sending on De Bruyne and Vergara. It took four minutes to pay off: in the 67th minute Lang laid the ball off for De Bruyne, and it was 4-1. The substitution shaped the result, and for once nobody can say the bench just sat and watched. Lucca also got a run from the 81st minute.

Control, but not enough of it

The numbers back up the control: 65% possession, 16 shots to 12, seven on target to five. They also say something else, and it would be wrong to hide it. Monza shot 12 times, hit the target five times and forced four saves from our goalkeeper.

After the 3-3 against Roma and the 4-3 against Bodo Glimt, conceding just once is a step forward. Still, this team gives away too much, even when it is running the game.

What does the night leave behind? A second half with three goals, scored without sitting back and waiting for the opponent, which is exactly what the fans have been asking of Allegri. And a run of three games unbeaten.

The table, though, is what it is: Napoli are 10th with 12 points after nine rounds, far too few for this squad. Next up is Juventus-Napoli at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday 1 November, kick-off 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET). Against one of the sides this season will be measured by, we will find out whether this second half was an answer or just a good night out.