A win that steadies a shaky run
Napoli’s 4-1 victory at Monza was the answer to a difficult week. Goals from Højlund, Politano, Rafa Marín and De Bruyne settled the match, according to the [1] match report, and Højlund’s strike ended an eight-match goal drought. He started up front ahead of Lorenzo Lucca, in a side that used a back three of Di Lorenzo, Marín and Rrahmani, as the [2] showed.
The win followed a 3-3 draw with Roma at the weekend, a game Napoli failed to close out when Balerdi equalised late, as [3] reported. Before that came the shock defeat to Venezia. Against that background, four goals away from home is a welcome change for a side that had been leaking points and struggling to find a scorer up front.
Pre-match reports suggested Kevin De Bruyne might be rested after two starts in a week. He played and scored, so any plan to manage his minutes did not hold. That is worth remembering when the next team sheet appears, because Napoli’s rotation is being driven as much by injuries as by choice.
Lobotka’s injury changes the midfield picture
The cost of the night arrived early. Stanislav Lobotka suffered a suspected ankle injury in the 15th minute after a collision with Monza’s Ricardo Mangas and was stretchered off in tears, with Billy Gilmour coming on, according to [4]. He was taken for X-rays. Assistant manager Marco Landucci said afterwards that the Slovak is expected to be out for a while, though the results were still pending, per [5].
There is some cover. Landucci said Andre Zambo Anguissa has returned after a longer absence and that the midfield has improved since the regular midfielders came back. Scott McTominay is also available again after a month out injured and a further month regaining match fitness. Both returns arrive just as Lobotka leaves, which softens the blow without removing it.
Two younger names are less certain. Landucci said Antonio Vergara and Costantino Favasuli were hurt on international duty, and both are listed as doubtful. Napoli’s midfield options for the next match are therefore Anguissa, McTominay, De Bruyne and Gilmour, with little margin if anyone else drops out.
A thin defence and a manager in the stands
The defensive list is long. Benoît Badiashile is out for around a month with a rectus femoris injury, and Leonardo Spinazzola is missing with a thigh problem, both confirmed by [3]. Another report listed Alessandro Buongiorno, David Neres, Alisson Santos and Favasuli among those unavailable at Monza. The one piece of good news is Amir Rrahmani, who returned after missing the Roma game with flu symptoms and slotted into the back three.
On the touchline, Massimiliano Allegri was sent off in the closing minutes against Roma and is serving a two-match ban. The club has dropped its appeal. Marco Landucci takes charge for the Monza game and the next one at Juventus, as [2] confirmed. Landucci kept the same approach at Monza and the result was a convincing win, but Juventus away is a very different test.
There is also transfer chatter. Napoli are reportedly weighing up a move for Udinese defender Oumar Solet, though any deal looks more likely in the summer than in January, according to [6]. It remains a rumour, and it does nothing for the immediate shortage.
What it means
Napoli sit sixth in Serie A with 14 points from nine games (four wins, two draws, three defeats), with 17 goals scored and 11 conceded. That goal difference of +6 is healthier than the record suggests, and it reflects a side that scores freely but has dropped points in games it could have controlled.
The recent form is mixed. Newest first, the last five results read win, draw, win, loss, loss: 4-1 at Monza, 3-3 with Roma, 4-3 against Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League, a 1-0 loss at Venezia and a 3-1 loss at Villarreal. Across those five matches Napoli scored 12 and conceded 11, so they are involved in high-scoring games almost every time out.
The next fixture is Juventus v Napoli on 1 November. The site’s forecast for it locks 24 hours before kick-off. The questions are clear: who anchors midfield without Lobotka, whether Anguissa and McTominay can carry the load, and whether a defence missing Badiashile and Spinazzola can hold up with Landucci making his second and final appearance in the dugout. Højlund’s goal helps, but the squad will be tested.
Sources
- Football Italia: Serie A | Monza 1-4 Napoli: Hojlund breaks drought, but Lobotka scare football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Serie A official line-ups: Monza vs. Napoli football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Official: Allegri confirms 20-man Napoli squad for Monza clash with two absences football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Lobotka injury: Napoli star stretchered off in tears football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Landucci: ‘The critics always complain about Napoli, lost Lobotka for a while’ football-italia.net ↩
- Football Italia: Napoli revive interest in Udinese defender Solet football-italia.net ↩
