Napoli win at Monza but Lobotka injury overshadows Hojlund's breakthrough
Rasmus Hojlund ended an eight-match goal drought and Matteo Politano, Rafa Marin and Kevin De Bruyne added further goals in a 4-1 win at Monza, but Stanislav Lobotka was stretchered off after a bad ankle injury.
Napoli beat Monza 4-1 at the U-Power Stadium to end the hosts' recent run of home success, but the afternoon turned sour when Stanislav Lobotka had to be carried off on a stretcher with what Football Italia described as a potentially serious ankle injury.
Rasmus Hojlund scored the opening goal after just ten minutes, finishing a through ball from Giovanni Di Lorenzo to end a run of eight matches in all competitions without finding the net, according to Football Italia.
Napoli arrived under pressure after a difficult week
The visit to Brianteo came with Napoli still feeling the effects of a shock defeat to Venezia and a fiery 3-3 draw, a game in which head coach Max Allegri was sent off for dissent and picked up a two-match touchline ban, Football Italia reported. Assistant Marco Landucci took the bench in his place.
Napoli were also missing Benoit Badiashile, Leonardo Spinazzola, David Neres, Alisson Santos, Costantino Favasuli and Alessandro Buongiorno through injury, though Amir Rrahmani returned having missed the previous match with flu symptoms. Otherwise Allegri made no changes to his starting XI.
Monza had won their last two home fixtures, against Sassuolo and Cagliari, and arrived with Gustavo Varela in prolific form, having scored nine goals in eight competitive matches. The hosts were without Jan Ziolkowski, Matteo Pessina, Yvan Maye and Michael Folorunsho, while Exequiel Zeballos, who had been close to joining Napoli from Boca Juniors in the summer, started on the bench.
A frantic opening set the pattern for the game
Monza were first to threaten, with Samuele Birindelli forcing a save from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic inside the first minute, but Napoli struck through Hojlund soon after as Di Lorenzo won the ball in midfield and released him immediately. Milinkovic-Savic then had to be alert at the other end, twice denying Varela before Monza drew level just before half-time, Varela heading home a Jay Robinson cross from five yards.
The injury to Lobotka came in between those moments, as Ricardo Mangas fell onto the midfielder and turned his ankle; he was replaced by Billy Gilmour and taken for X-rays, Football Italia reported.
Napoli restored their lead early in the second half when Politano intercepted a Mangas clearance, cut inside and bent a finish through Lorenzo Lucchesi's legs. Milinkovic-Savic produced two further saves to keep Monza at bay, reacting quickly to a Foe Ondoa effort from the edge of the area, while at the other end Noel Tornqvist denied Hojlund after the striker had turned his marker on a Noa Lang assist.
Set-piece frailty and a late flourish settled it
Napoli made Monza pay for that missed chance almost immediately, with Rafa Marin heading in from the resulting Politano corner. Football Italia noted it confirmed the hosts' poor record defending from set plays this season. Kevin De Bruyne, introduced as a substitute, then added a fourth after Lang's disguised pass sent him clear down the left to finish one-on-one past the goalkeeper.
Scott McTominay also tested Tornqvist from distance, while Zeballos had a late effort saved by Milinkovic-Savic at the near post as Monza chased a second goal that never came. Napoli finished with 65 per cent possession and 16 shots to Monza's 12, according to the match statistics recorded by Football Italia, though the home side had more shots on target in a game that was closer in balance than the scoreline suggests.
The result ends Monza's two-match home winning streak and restores some calm to a Napoli side that had been under scrutiny following the Venezia loss and the touchline ban for Allegri, who will serve the second of his two matches suspended from the bench. The more pressing concern for the club is the extent of the damage to Lobotka's ankle, with the outcome of his scans expected to shape Napoli's midfield options in the coming weeks.