Napoli land in Venice with a worn-out squad and no more excuses

Unease is filtering out from behind the scenes at Napoli. It is not just a cold reading of a table that does not add up: this is a squad worn down by a start to the season built on forced rotations and injuries piling one on another, with form that remains below expectations. It is not an isolated moment — it is the thread running through recent days, from the collapse at Villarreal to the unease now felt inside the dressing room.

Kevin De Bruyne is also under scrutiny again: his form is described as inconsistent, far from the player admired at Manchester. It is the same De Bruyne who, in the second half at Villarreal, reportedly failed to follow an instruction from head coach Allegri's bench to narrow his range of movement — an episode the squad has carried for days and one that weighs as heavily as a goal conceded.

The physical picture is just as clear. Anguissa, sidelined by a myofascial injury to his adductor, and Olivera, sidelined by an injury to his right obturator externus muscle, only returned to training on Wednesday along with Alisson Santos; Buongiorno remains out for a lengthy spell following meniscus surgery; McTominay has only been available since 8 October, a month after surgery for a cardiac arrhythmia. It is the sum of these absences, more than any single episode, that explains a squad arriving worn out at this point of the season.

Where the responsibility lies

This is no longer the moment to apportion blame from a distance. Allegri answers for decisions on the pitch — the constant rotations, the instruction to De Bruyne that went unheeded, a balance asked for and not yet found — but the squad is the one built in the summer, a window closed with a negative net spend of around €47.5m and without a true alternative in every position for when injuries strike all at once. If the squad is worn out, it is also because real alternatives were missing in the moments they were needed.

The schedule leaves no room to delay: on Saturday 17 October, Venezia, managed by new arrival Nicola and bottom of the table on zero points; then on Tuesday 20 October, Bodø/Glimt at the Maradona in the Champions League, where another defeat would make the chase for the last 16 almost a lost cause; and on 24 October, Roma. This is not a hope, it is a necessity — and it will already be tested from Saturday afternoon, at the Penzo.