Allegri's balancing act: Napoli must fix their defending before facing Roma
Massimiliano Allegri says Napoli's work without the ball, not a lack of attacking intent, is holding back a side sitting eighth in Serie A ahead of Saturday's visit from Roma.
Massimiliano Allegri has identified Napoli's structure out of possession as the area most in need of repair before Saturday's Serie A meeting with Roma at the Stadio Maradona, according to Football Italia.
The Napoli coach told his pre-match press conference that results, not performances alone, will define how his team is judged this season. Napoli have taken 10 points from their opening seven league matches and sit eighth in the table, a position Allegri acknowledged needs addressing.
Napoli arrive on the back of a 4-3 Champions League win over Bodo/Glimt, but that victory followed a defeat to Venezia that interrupted a run of two wins and a draw. Allegri framed Saturday's fixture as significant without overstating it, noting it is "an important game, but not our last one, nor will it decide Champions League qualification."
Why Allegri resists the push for a fixed identity
Asked whether Napoli lack the clear style Gasperini has given Roma, Allegri pushed back on the idea that abandoning defensive solidity for pure attacking football would solve anything. He said the easiest response would be to "abandon the defence and go all-out attack," but insisted balance has been the priority since the start of the project.
That answer points to a tension running through Napoli's season. Roma, under Gasperini, have built a recognisable identity around aggressive man-oriented marking that commits players across the pitch and opens space in behind — the same spaces Allegri warned his side would need technical quality to exploit. Napoli, by contrast, are still searching for a settled shape while managing a squad recovering from injury and heavy minutes across club and international football.
Allegri's comments suggest he sees defensive organisation, not attacking invention, as the quicker route back up the table. Improving out of possession is a structural fix: better pressing triggers, tighter spacing between lines, and more discipline in transition moments when Roma's man-for-man approach tries to pull Napoli's shape apart.
De Bruyne's role reflects a squad management problem
Kevin De Bruyne's continued use in a deeper midfield role, rather than the advanced position he prefers, was the first topic put to Allegri. The coach defended the choice on practical grounds, pointing out that De Bruyne can operate either in front of the defence or as part of a double pivot, and that he delivered there against Frosinone.
Allegri linked the decision directly to squad fatigue. Lobotka and Gilmour, he said, have played heavy workloads between club and international duty, and rotating De Bruyne into a deeper role is partly about managing that load rather than a long-term positional conviction. He said he would decide on the exact setup only after Friday's final training session.
That rotation logic extends further down the squad. McTominay, back after two months out despite scoring twice since his return, is still short of full sharpness. Anguissa, who played 60 minutes recently, featured in just 13 games last season and Allegri compared reactivating him to restarting a machine. Badiashile was rested after three consecutive starts, and Vergara was due to be assessed for a place on the bench.
Roma's pressing creates chances both ways
Allegri was explicit about where the danger from Roma lies. He described Gasperini's teams as ones that take opponents man for man, creating space all over the pitch — games he called potentially "beautiful and entertaining" if Napoli get the result, and "a problem" if they do not.
That assessment captures the risk of facing an aggressive marking scheme: it generates chances at both ends. Roma's commitment to one-on-one duels across the pitch can be broken by quick, precise combination play, but it also punishes any side that loses possession cheaply in its own build-up. Allegri said his players will need strong technical execution and significant physical output to cope.
Defensive availability added further uncertainty. Rrahmani was sidelined with a fever heading into the final training session, leaving Allegri to assess his condition before settling on a back line against a Roma side he described as playing with enthusiasm and good technique while sitting near the top of the table.
Napoli host Roma at the Stadio Maradona on Saturday at 17.00 BST, with Allegri having framed the match as a chance to arrest a dip in form rather than a defining moment for the season.