Napoli press split over De Bruyne's role before Bologna

Three days after the Champions League defeat to Arsenal and on the eve of Napoli-Bologna, Saturday's papers agree on one question: how Allegri responds after three straight losses. On the probable line-up, the sources tell different stories.

by Gennaro SanninoSaturday 12 September, 08:40 CET· 1 hour ago

Viva De Bruyne un marziano a Napoli, la sua intervista è un manuale di anti-retorica e di — Foto: ilnapolista.it

Corriere dello Sport-Stadio opens with "Reazione Napoli, il fattore De Bruyne" (Napoli reaction, the De Bruyne factor): after defeats to Como, Inter and Arsenal, the word of the day before Bologna is reaction, and the Rome paper points to the Belgian midfielder as the key man to turn things around.

Reazione Napoli, il fattore De Bruyne

On the pitch, though, the sources contradict each other. Sky Sport's probable line-ups piece says Lang could start against Bologna; a later Sky report goes further, putting Lang in a front three that also has De Bruyne out of the starting XI. The player Corriere names as decisive for that reaction might, according to Sky, start on the bench. On Sunday's line-up, there is simply no agreement.

La Repubblica tries to dig deeper into the club's injury crisis, headlining "Infortuni Napoli, l'analisi di Repubblica: forse c'è una motivazione precisa" (Napoli injuries: Repubblica's analysis — maybe there's a precise reason). The paper hints at a common cause behind the muscle problems that have sidelined Meret and Alisson Santos, without saying what it might be.

TuttoMercatoWeb takes stock of contract talks with "Rinnovi McTominay, Anguissa, Lobotka e Meret: come stanno le cose" (Renewals: McTominay, Anguissa, Lobotka and Meret — where things stand), while a separate piece confirms contact between Antonio Conte and Fenerbahce, calling the former Napoli coach "il 1° nome" (the No.1 name) for the Turkish job. That is news about his life away from Napoli, not about us.

It's worth noting that Gazzetta dello Sport's front page does not mention Napoli at all today. Its lead headline, "Chivu prepara la prima fuga scudetto" (Chivu plots the first title breakaway), covers the top of the table from another club's point of view — a sign of how far, outside Naples, Napoli's 12th-place start on 3 points has already dropped out of the title conversation.

Our take

It's striking that the one thing the press seems fixated on is who plays among the attacking midfielders, when the numbers that actually matter — 76 shots conceded in the last three games, the worst Opta data on record, with 4.05 xG conceded against Arsenal — point to a team problem, not a single name to pick or drop. Corriere is right to demand a reaction, but reducing it to the "De Bruyne factor" risks oversimplifying a midfield that has lost McTominay for two weeks and still hasn't found its balance. And if there really is "a precise reason" behind the injuries, as Repubblica suggests, that would be the most serious story of all — a shame nobody, for now, is telling it in full.