PORTO, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 04: SSC Napoli manager Massimiliano Allegri reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 Liga Stage 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)
Max Allegri admitted Napoli have “limitations” after their 4-1 defeat to FC Porto as their Champions League campaign hangs by a thread. ‘These are the mistakes that cost you matches.’
The Partenopei were truly decimated entering the Estadio do Dragao as 10 players were missing between injuries and inconsistencies, leaving only three top-class players on the bench.
In the situation, they still went into the break at 1-1, Scott McTominay canceling out a free header from Jan Bednarek.
However, they fell apart in the final 20 minutes thanks to a counter-attack from Gabriel Weiga, a header from Jakub Kivior from a corner and a penalty from Samu after Rafa Mari was red-carded.
Allegri sees Napoli running on empty
“We made mistakes in two sets, I think the team played well until 70c minutes,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.
“It was an aggressive performance, we went to men, but then we conceded that second goal on a bouncing ball and we didn’t get forward in time for offside because of fatigue.
“These are unfortunately mistakes that can happen when you’re tired. The tempo is high in the Champions League and in those last few minutes we struggled because they hit the crossbar twice before the goal and cut us down quite easily.”
Allegri is now under serious pressure after a string of defeats in the big games and they have lost three of their first four Champions League games, so can he turn that around?
“We have a game against Lazio on Sunday and we have to regroup because these are the only players we have,” he said.
“You win and lose matches not because of the big things, but because of the little things. The team fought and pushed Porto to the man as much as they could, but then we ran out of gas.
“It’s like the Cup Final for us against Lazio and then hopefully we can get some players back in during the break for international duty.”
It will be a very difficult campaign for Allegri and Napoli, who are lagging behind in Serie A and in Europe.
“I had a similar season at Juventus, I’ve had it before, all we have to do is keep working, fix a few things, have an extra counter and extra concentration in certain moments.
“Tonight was better than the performance we saw in Turin on Sunday.”
Due to a huge shortage of players, Allegri changed his formation to a 3-5-1-1 with Kevin De Bruyne to support Rasmus Hojlund up front.
“That’s the way I decided to play tonight because it was the only way. It was well over an hour but Porto made five substitutions, they had fresh legs and we had nobody left to introduce.
“If you want to play like that, aggressive and high pressing, you have to have fresh legs off the bench. It’s either that or you defend in front of the box, but we struggle to do that, so it was the only way.
“Unfortunately, we conceded the second goal ourselves.”
Porto beat Napoli again 👏 Gabriel Veiga with a smooth finish 🎯 📺 Stream now on TNT Sports & HBO Max
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 4, 2026
Sky Sport Italia pundit Fabio Capello asked Allegri if there was anyone who could lead Napoli’s defence.
“You’re absolutely right, but if you look at the bounce of the ball, Beukema just pushed straight, but when the ball goes around he has to mark the man. It was a distraction, he could have been tired, but those are the details and it was the same in Turin.
“There was no sign of danger there either, but then we made a mistake, then it was Marianucci who turned the wrong way. These are the mistakes that cost you games,” replied the Napoli coach.
Allegri then thought it was not just down to the current injury crisis, but rather his lack of confidence in the side.
“I know the limitations of this squad. In the first game against Genoa, I was blamed for a bad first half, but it was because we had to control the tempo. Recently, we had good first halves, but then we lost in the second half because we have a limited squad.
“If he plays the same lot every three days, the pace is as high as 70c minute turns into a different match. You can only control that if you have eight or nine players on the bench. Now we have one more game against Lazio, then we will see what happens when we come back more.