“Hojlund apologized and said, ‘It’s De Bruyne who gave me the ball,’ and I told him, ‘Eh, you had to pass it back to him,'” Massimiliano Allegri recounted with a smile following Napoli’s convincing victory.
Napoli secured a dominant 3-0 home victory against Frosinone at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, marking what manager Massimiliano Allegri described as the team’s best performance of the season, Corriere dello Sport reported. The win propelled the Partenopei forward in the Italian Serie A standings, though the veteran coach immediately turned his post-match press conference toward tactical refinements and a lighthearted pitch-side exchange with his forwards.
Tactical Adjustments and Kevin De Bruyne’s Longevity
Addressing the media after the final whistle, Allegri evaluated Kevin De Bruyne’s role within the squad, pointing out that shifting the Belgian playmaker deeper into a central playmaking role could significantly prolong his career at the highest level.
“In the national team he does well, then you evaluate the performance based on the result,” Allegri told reporters regarding De Bruyne. “If he starts playing as a playmaker he becomes even better, I told him he could extend his career by a couple of years in that position, even though he prefers to have fun further forward. Then let’s not forget that last year he was out for a long time.”
The manager emphasized that integrating returning squad members such as André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and David Neres will require patience as the club works to improve overall physical conditioning and defensive stability around their penalty area.
Defensive Resilience and Benoit Badiashile
Defensive focus formed a central theme of Allegri’s post-match analysis. Despite the three-goal margin, the Napoli boss insisted his team allowed too many shots on target against an opponent that stretched the pitch.
Defending center-back Benoit Badiashile, who faced scrutiny following a previous mistake at San Siro, Allegri offered a staunch defense of the defender’s overall quality and value to the squad.
“You cannot judge players from a single mistake; in football we all make mistakes and in a match there are a thousand errors,” Allegri stated. “Sometimes it happens that errors cost you matches, in Milan perhaps I was wrong to put him in. He had been out for a long time, the player must be evaluated for what he does during the season, his value is not in question.”
Managing Expectations for Noa Lang
Allegri also addressed the development and current output of winger Noa Lang, utilizing a traditional Italian proverb to describe the player’s responsibility to demand more from himself on the pitch.
Speaking to DAZN, Allegri noted that he frequently communicates with Lang to push his standards higher, remarking that the player’s current output falls short of his full technical potential.
“I try to talk to him, I told him up until now he has done less than what he could have done and it is only his fault,” Allegri said. “There is an old saying that I pull out every now and then: ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ I am happy for him, but I believe he has important potential. When shooting he has to do better and must demand more of himself.”
Napoli returns to training immediately to prepare for their upcoming fixture scheduled for Tuesday.
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