Napoli's win at Monza exposes both their firepower and their fragility
A 4-1 victory over Monza lifted Napoli up the table, but Marco Landucci's post-match remarks and Stanislav Lobotka's injury point to a squad under real strain.
Napoli beat Monza 4-1 away from home on Wednesday evening, but the result was overshadowed by Stanislav Lobotka being stretchered off in tears after a collision with Ricardo Mangas, according to Football Italia.
Massimiliano Allegri was not on the bench to see it. He is serving a two-match touchline ban for his protests during Napoli's 3-3 draw with Roma at the weekend, so assistant Marco Landucci took charge at the U-Power Stadium instead.
Rasmus Hojlund ended an eight-game run without a goal to put Napoli ahead, Gustavo equalised for Monza, and the game was settled in the second half by Matteo Politano, Rafa Marin and Kevin De Bruyne.
Landucci used his post-match press duties, reported by Football Italia, to push back against what he sees as an unfair narrative around Allegri's Napoli. "They used to complain about Allegri that he won with 1-0 results, whereas those who won 4-3 were spectacular," he told Sky Sport Italia. "Now his teams win with lots of goals and people complain we concede too many."
Why Napoli's scoring run hasn't quieted the doubters
The complaint Landucci describes is really about game management rather than output. A team that wins 1-0 is controlling matches through defensive organisation and a low block; a team winning 4-1 or 4-3 is doing it through transition and individual quality higher up the pitch, which tends to come with more defensive exposure.
Napoli have shifted toward the second model this autumn, scoring heavily in Serie A and the Champions League, and Landucci's argument is that judging the team on goals conceded alone ignores how those goals are being traded for wins.
His own account of the Monza match supports a version of that reading: Napoli conceded just before half-time, then regrouped and, in his words, "took control after the break, secured the result." That is standard game management after a setback, not a tactical malfunction, even if the scoreline looks loose on paper.
The midfield injury list behind the selection problems
Landucci pointed to a deeper issue than tactics: his midfield has barely had a settled look all season. McTominay was out for a month and needed a further month to get back to full sharpness, Anguissa missed even more time, and Vergara and Favasuli both picked up injuries on international duty. "You win games in midfield," he said, framing the recent uptick in results as a direct consequence of Napoli's first-choice pair finally being fit together again.
That context makes Lobotka's injury against Monza more damaging than a single absence. Landucci confirmed Napoli have "certainly lost him for a while" after the Slovakian's ankle was caught in the challenge with Mangas, with reports he was taken for X-rays at a local hospital. A midfield already stretched by a rotating cast of absentees now loses one of its senior organisers just as fixtures intensify across two competitions.
Milinkovic-Savic's chance to press his case
Alex Meret was left out entirely, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic handed a surprise start in goal. Landucci explained the choice was built around distribution: "We used him today because he has a great long ball, but he also made a lot of big saves this evening."
Playing a goalkeeper known for long, direct distribution changes how a side can build out from the back under pressure, offering an alternative route when a high press cuts off the short options, and Landucci credited the performance as more than a one-off, calling him "a very intelligent goalkeeper."
He was not uncritical of the team as a whole, noting Napoli "gave the ball away a bit too easily at times" in possession, a reminder that comfortable scorelines can still mask sloppy moments in build-up play.
Napoli's win came on a night both Milan and Juventus lost, allowing them to climb back up the Serie A table after a slow start to the season. Juventus, beaten 2-0 by Genoa, now face Napoli on Sunday with their own campaign described by Football Italia as in crisis, a fixture Landucci called "intriguing" heading into a week where his side will be assessing just how long they are without Lobotka.