Napoli sit ninth on 7 points — what the table really says

Napoli are ninth with 7 points from five games — two wins, one draw, two defeats — level with Sassuolo just below them in tenth. There is no lone leader at the top: Roma, Inter and Lazio share first place on 13 points, six clear of Napoli. That gap matters more given this season started with the declared aim of staying with the front-runners, not chasing them.

The position carries weight because it follows the draw in Florence, which left the fanbase split rather than uniformly disappointed. Some are calling for Allegri to be sacked in the club's centenary year; others still back him. Both camps share the same end of the stadium, with nostalgia for Decibel simmering in the background and frustration with his press conferences showing no sign of easing. Politano put it plainly: what's missing is cazzimma in front of goal — the street-smart nastiness that turns matches into points. Allegri himself said, in the heat of the moment, that his side left the pitch angry. The table, in that sense, only confirms an unease that was already visible on the pitch.

Five rounds still don't measure any team's real strength, Napoli included. The club's own recent history bears that out: the only comparable false start in the last decade came under Rudi Garcia, who wasn't sacked until matchday 12. The points right now show who Napoli are losing ground to, and by how much — they don't yet show whether this Napoli belongs in ninth or somewhere else entirely.

The international break freezes every verdict for two weeks. First comes a friendly against Avellino at the Partenio-Adriano Lombardi on Saturday 26 September, then the real restart, in the league, on 10 October at the Maradona against Frosinone. That is where it will become clear whether ninth place is a starting point or a low point — not in today's numbers.