Porto beat Napoli 4-1 in their Champions League match in Portugal, a result that left Napoli with

Porto beat Napoli 4-1 in their Champions League match in Portugal, a result that left Napoli with three points from four league-phase matches and triggered an unusually public reckoning inside the club, with captain-for-the-night Matteo Politano saying the Italians on the squad are always the ones forced to face the cameras. Sportmediaset reported that Politano told reporters he would like other teammates to step forward too, not “always us Italians.”

Napoli had drawn level at 1-1 before halftime through a Scott McTominay goal, but after conceding from a corner — a goal Politano said a physical team like Napoli should not allow — the side “gave up” at 2-1 and the deficit ballooned to 4-1, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport.

Politano apologizes to fans, then points at his teammates

Wearing the captain’s armband, Politano was blunt in post-match interviews carried by Sportmediaset, La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport. He apologized to the supporters who traveled and said the team now has to “stay quiet, apologize to the fans who came here to support us and think about Sunday’s match against Lazio.”

“Everything went wrong. Words are carried away by the wind, but we have to show actions on the pitch, and today we showed few,” Politano said, as reported by Corriere dello Sport. “I can’t give an explanation for this moment; I’m very angry.”

La Gazzetta dello Sport quoted him directly:

“I’d like it if every now and then some other teammate came forward to give some explanation, not always us Italians.”

McTominay and Højlund pile on the criticism

Politano was not alone in front of the cameras. McTominay, the Scotland midfielder, told La Gazzetta dello Sport that Napoli “concede too many goals — that’s the story,” adding that injuries are piling up and that four goals conceded in the Champions League left “nothing to smile about.”

Rasmus Højlund went further, publicly disagreeing with coach Massimiliano Allegri’s assessment of the performance. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the striker said the whole club must look in the mirror:

“We all have to look in the mirror — not just the players, all members of the club must take their own responsibilities.”

Allegri defends the display and calls Lazio a “final”

Allegri pushed back against the criticism, telling La Gazzetta dello Sport he was satisfied with what his players did and that the physical hold-up was good despite the late fade. He framed Sunday’s Serie A match against Lazio as decisive: “With Lazio it’s a final,” he said, adding that the team has three days to prepare and will recover injured players after the international break.

The question still open in Naples

What remains unresolved is whether the non-Italian players Politano asked to speak up will respond to the criticism from the captain, the midfielder and the striker, or whether Allegri’s defense of the performance will hold the team together ahead of the Lazio match on Sunday.