Massimiliano Allegri began his Serie A tenure as Napoli manager with a 2-0 away win against Genoa, although both goals came after half-time.
The result marked Allegri’s first league match in charge of Napoli. Despite the fact that his side did not break the deadlock until the second half, he said the team had not faced significant difficulties during the game.
“Problems were only in the first half of the first half,” Allegri said.
Napoli’s victory was secured on the road at Genoa, giving Allegri a positive opening to his time as the club’s manager. The two goals arrived after the interval, but the timing of the breakthrough did not change his assessment of the performance.
Rather than viewing the match as one in which Napoli had been under sustained pressure, Allegri felt that any trouble was concentrated in a limited period at the beginning of the contest. His comments suggested that the visitors were able to manage the match effectively after that early spell and eventually establish their advantage.
The 2-0 scoreline also meant Napoli finished the match without conceding. Their performance delivered three points in Allegri’s first Serie A fixture in the Napoli dugout, while Genoa were beaten at home.
The match was significant for the manager as he began his competitive league work with the club. It was also the first opportunity for Napoli to demonstrate how the team would perform under Allegri in a Serie A match.
Although the score remained level through the opening half of the game, Napoli eventually found the goals needed to take control of the result. Allegri’s view was that the absence of an early breakthrough did not reflect major problems across the match as a whole.
Napoli went into the new campaign after ending the previous season in second place. That finish provides the background to Allegri’s appointment and the expectations surrounding the club, but the immediate priority was to begin the new Serie A campaign with a result.
The win at Genoa did exactly that. Napoli scored twice in the second half, kept a clean sheet and left with a 2-0 victory, while Allegri’s first league outing as manager ended with three points. His post-match focus, however, was on the limited nature of the difficulties Napoli experienced rather than on the fact that the goals came late.
For Allegri, the opening match therefore combined a winning result with a measured assessment of his side’s display. Napoli’s first league fixture under his management ended successfully, despite the scoreline remaining goalless until after the interval.
