Allegri: Napoli’s flaws cost them against Porto

Max Allegri acknowledged that Napoli possess ‘limitations’ following a 4-1 loss to FC Porto, leaving their Champions League hopes precarious. ‘These are the mistakes that cost you matches.’

The Partenopei entered the Estadio do Dragao severely depleted, lacking 10 players due to injury and suspension, which left just three senior outfield players available on the bench.

Despite these odds, they reached the interval level at 1-1, with Scott McTominay equalizing Jan Bednarek’s free-kick header.

Yet they collapsed in the final 20 minutes, conceding to a Gabriel Veiga counter-attack, an identical header from Jakub Kiwior off a corner, and a Samu penalty after Rafa Marin’s red-card offense.

Allegri observes Napoli operating on empty reserves

PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: Massimiliano Allegri, Manager of SSC Napoli, watches prior to the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 clash between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)

“We made mistakes on two set plays, the team had in my view a good performance up to the 70th minute,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.

“It was an aggressive performance, we went man for man, but then conceded this second goal on a bouncing ball and with fatigue we didn’t push up in time for the offside.

“These are errors that unfortunately can happen when you are tired. The tempo is high in the Champions League, and in those final minutes we were struggling, as they hit the crossbar twice just before the goal and were cutting through us fairly easily.”

Allegri faces mounting pressure after a string of high-profile losses, having dropped points in three of his first four Champions League matches, raising questions about his ability to reverse the trend.

“We have a game on Sunday against Lazio and need to recuperate, because these are the only players we’ve got,” he replied.

“You win and lose matches on details, not the big things, but the small ones. The team fought and chased Porto around man for man as long as they could, but then we ran out of fuel.

“It’s like a Cup Final for us against Lazio and then hopefully we can recover some players during the break for international duty.”

PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: Scott McTominay of SSC Napoli celebrates netting his side’s opening goal alongside Kevin De Bruyne during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 fixture between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)

This promises to be a formidable campaign for Allegri and Napoli, who are slipping behind in both Serie A and European competition.

“I had a similar season at Juventus, I’ve been through this before, the only thing we must do is keep working, fix a few things, have that extra metre and extra bit of concentration in certain moments.

“This evening was a better performance than the one we saw on Sunday in Turin, certainly.”

PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: SSC Napoli players stand for a team photo ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 match between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)

Faced with a severe player shortage, Allegri shifted to a 3-5-1-1 formation, positioning Kevin De Bruyne behind Rasmus Hojlund up front, prompting debate over whether this is a permanent solution or merely an emergency measure.

“I decided to play this way tonight because it was the only way. It went well for over an hour, but Porto made five substitutions, they had fresh legs, and we didn’t have anyone left to introduce.

“If you want to play this way, aggressive and high press, you need to have fresh legs off the bench. It’s either that or you defend in front of your penalty area, but we struggle to do that, so it was the only way.

“Unfortunately, we conceded the second goal on our own clearance.”

Sky Sport Italia analyst Fabio Capello questioned Allegri regarding who could anchor the Napoli defense given their evident disorganization.

“You are perfectly right, but if you look at the bounce of the ball, Beukema just pushed up straight, but when the ball is bouncing around, then he has to mark the man. It was a distraction, he might’ve been tired, but these are details and it was the same thing in Turin.

“There too, there seemed to be no sign of danger, but then we made a mistake, that time it was Marianucci who turned the wrong way. These are mistakes that make you lose games,” replied the Napoli coach.

PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: Andre Silva of FC Porto battles Amir Rrahmani of SSC Napoli during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 game between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)

Allegri appeared to imply that the issue extended beyond the immediate injury crisis, pointing instead to his own lack of confidence in the squad.

“I know the limitations of this squad. In the first game with Genoa, I was accused of having a bad first half, but it was because we needed to control the tempo. Lately, we’ve had good first halves, but then fall away in the second half, it’s because we have a limited squad.

“If the same lot play every three days, the tempo is high, by the 70th minute it becomes a different match. You can only control that if you have eight or nine players on the bench. Now we’ve got one more game to play with Lazio, then we’ll see what happens when more return.”