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Allegri Sent Off, Then Says He Was "Not Lucid Enough" to Talk
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- Allegri Sent Off, Then Says He Was "Not Lucid Enough" to Talk
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Napoli drew 3-3 at home to Roma, and manager Massimiliano Allegri was sent off after Roma scored their third goal.
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Allegri was overheard outside the changing rooms insinuating that Roma received favourable treatment, then told Dazn he was "not lucid enough to expand on this game".
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Scott McTominay scored his first Serie A goal of the season after missing all of September following a heart procedure.
A Sending Off, a Grudge About Milan and an Interview Cut Short
Massimiliano Allegri finished Napoli's 3-3 draw with Roma sent off, and he did not hide his ire. He was dismissed after Roma scored their third goal, claimed not to know why, and was later overheard outside the changing rooms insinuating that the opposition had received favourable treatment from the referee.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport reported the words he used: "Last year they handed you [Roma] the Champions League and I paid for it at Milan." Allegri then cut short an interview with Dazn, saying he was "for the first time in 25 years, not lucid enough to expand on this game".
The Milan Claim Behind the Outburst
The comment points back to Milan, where Allegri says he paid for last year's decisions. Milan spent almost the entire campaign in the top four and much of it as the closest contender to Inter for the scudetto. They still missed out on the Champions League by a single point, after collecting only seven from their final eight games.
Napoli's own defending drew attention at the end. In the build-up to Roma's final goal, Napoli defender Sam Beukema collapsed to the floor after a tussle with Leonardo Balerdi off the ball. Replays showed what looked like arm-on-arm contact, though Beukema went down clutching his rib cage. He got up too late to do anything about it, then fell back to the floor again as he watched Balerdi head home in the 89th minute.
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It was Balerdi's second of the night. The centre-back, on loan from Marseille with an option to buy, had already crashed in an equaliser from a corner in the 74th minute. Roma captain Marten de Roon delivered that corner, and Wesley supplied the cross for the late header.
McTominay Gives Napoli Something to Build On
The mood around Allegri makes more sense against the start Napoli have had. Scott McTominay was out for all of September, recovering from an ablation procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat. The club described the condition as mild and benign, and the procedure as a complete success.
Napoli struggled without him and kept struggling after he returned. His first two starts back brought defeats to Villarreal and to Venezia, the last-placed team in Serie A. That left Napoli with five losses from their first nine games in all competitions, and the Venezia result led to speculation about whether Allegri's job could soon be at risk.
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A week later, McTominay has started to change the story. His two goals in midweek helped Napoli to their first Champions League win of the season, 4-3 against Bodø/Glimt. Against Roma he broke his Serie A duck, and he did it the hard way.
He appeared to have scored with a close-range header early in the second half, but Pierluigi Gollini clawed the ball out from inside the goal. McTominay nudged the rebound back across the line, Gollini pushed it away again, so the midfielder got to his feet and smashed a shot into the back of the net. It made the score 2-0 in the 48th minute, after Frank Anguissa had opened the scoring with an overhead kick. When Roma pulled level at 2-2, McTominay answered with a finish from almost 30 yards, tucked inside the near post.
Gasperini Compares Soulé to Messi
Roma's manager left happier than Allegri did. Gian Piero Gasperini singled out 23-year-old Argentine forward Matías Soulé, whose goal in the 69th minute had pulled Roma back into the game. "He's in his prime, he's the driving force of this team," Gasperini said at full-time. He added that Donyell Malen "didn't have a great game, and [Soulé] carried the team", and that the goal reminded him of "something [Leo] Messi would do".
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Gasperini also said Roma had targeted players seen as leaders at their previous clubs when they signed them. He named De Roon in that group, and the Dutchman wore the armband and set up Balerdi's first goal.
What the Draw Means for Napoli
Napoli sit 10th in Serie A, with Roma third on 18 points. Scoring three against a Roma side that had conceded that many in their previous seven league games combined is a good sign for Allegri. A week ago the question was whether Kevin De Bruyne could be persuaded to take the deeper role Allegri wants for him, which would free McTominay to play further forward. In the Roma game and the win over Bodø/Glimt, there were positive signs.
McTominay stuck at the job on his three-strikes-in-one until it was done. Napoli now have to show the same persistence for a full match.
