Napoli Off to Their Worst Start in Over Twenty Years

Napoli began their campaign with a gritty win over Genoa but then lost three games in a row, resulting in their worst start in years. The last time they had begun this poorly was in 2000/2001, when they were in Serie B, getting defeated three times and drawing once in their first four matches. They were coached by Zdenek Zeman at the time, La Repubblica reports.

The Partenopei have paid the price for the early schedule, coming up short against three worthy rivals: Como, Inter, and Arsenal. Plus, all three results were narrow.

Napoli have been hit by early injury woes, as Scott McTominay is on the mend from a heart condition, Alessio Buongiorno suffered a knee problem in late July, and Frank Anguissa missed the clash with the Gunners with a thigh issue. Alex Meret and Alisson Santos subbed off midweek, and they are expected to miss time as well.

The Partenopei spent very little during the summer to offset the Antonio Conte years. The appointment of Massimiliano Allegri after his late collapse at Milan wasn’t particularly well-received. The tension with the fan base is palpable. The ultras targeted the owner Aurelio De Laurentiis directly on Wednesday.

Our Take on Napoli

It’s not yet time to sound the alarm, as they have looked reasonably good, despite the results. It’s usually the other way around with their boss. Things would be a lot better had they held onto their lead over Inter, grabbing at least a well-earned draw. Still, problems are afoot, as they’ll be depleted for a while. We’ll see whether Allegri can rally the troops, or if the players instead stop following him, which would spell trouble.