Como Spoil Allegri’s Napoli Home Debut with 2-1 Serie A Win

Como added another upset to its Serie A run by beating Napoli 2-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium and spoiling Massimiliano Allegri’s home debut as Napoli coach.

Martin Baturina put Cesc Fabregas’s side ahead in the 17th minute after an open start in hot conditions. Rasmus Hojlund equalized for Napoli with a fine strike around the half-hour mark, but a defensive mix-up soon allowed Anastasios Douvikas to score for the second consecutive match.

Napoli brought on Kevin De Bruyne early in the second half, but the midfielder could not reverse the result. Como absorbed late pressure, and Stanislav Lobotka’s stoppage-time effort was disallowed for offside.

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It is a very valuable win… the first half was very good, and in the second, we understood that we were facing champions, and we held out.

Fabregas said the victory reflected a strong first half and his team’s ability to withstand Napoli’s pressure after recognizing the quality of the opposition. “It is a very valuable win… the first half was very good, and in the second, we understood that we were facing champions, and we held out,” he told DAZN.

Como qualified for the Champions League for the first time last season after upsetting the established order in Italian football. The club has been drawn against holders Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Manchester United, and Fabregas said he wanted another striker before the September 1 transfer deadline. He said Douvikas could not handle league and cup matches alone, recalling how an injury to Álvaro Morata caused problems the previous year.

Como, which drew with Udinese in its opener, climbed to four points, two behind early leaders AC Milan and Juventus. Napoli remained on three points.

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Obviously, I’m expecting a striker. Douvikas can’t play both the league and the cups. We suffered a lot with Álvaro Morata last year, for months he was out injured. Playing every three days at this level isn’t easy.