Training Ground Fights Expose Napoli's Real Problem

Good evening, Napoli supporters, this is Napoli Tonight for Monday 21 September.

Two goals, two different afternoons inside the same game: Napoli drew 1-1 at Fiorentina yesterday, Billy Gilmour opening the scoring for Napoli in the twenty-third minute, assisted by Politano, before Jiménez levelled for Fiorentina in the fifty-first. Napoli stay ninth on seven points from five games, their worst start in ten years.

The bigger story sits off the pitch. Training at Castel Volturno, the club's training ground, has seen two fights break out between players. One landed Noa Lang with an internal punishment that many inside the club felt was too light; the other brought no punishment at all. Head coach Allegri is managing an injury crisis largely alone, with president Aurelio De Laurentiis missing from every home game this season so far. Our read: a squad that was told over the summer it was hungry enough without reinforcements is instead showing signs of strain, and results five games in back that up more than any press line does.

Refereeing is the other flashpoint. Journalist Maurizio Pistocchi flagged a missed penalty for Dragusin's hold on Højlund at the Franchi, one of three contested calls he listed from the weekend, and asked whether VAR has been deliberately reined in. Separately, at the referees' meeting in Lissone, designator Orsato ruled that De Bruyne's goal against Genoa stood correctly, with no error in the contact on Vasquez, and confirmed the same light-touch VAR approach will run for the rest of the season. Two different complaints, same conclusion: this Napoli side is getting fewer decisions its way, whatever the reason.

On the summer's big gamble: the board trusted its senior players' word over strengthening the squad, closing the window with a net spend of around minus €47.5m. Five games on, ninth place is the answer so far.

That's Napoli Tonight for tonight. Napoli's next game is at home to Frosinone at the Maradona, on Saturday 10 October. Every story, in full, at arenarete dot com slash napoli slash e n. Back tomorrow evening at eight o'clock CET.