Napoli midfielder André-Frank Zambo Anguissa watched his side fall 1-2 at home against Como on August 31, a defeat that left Massimiliano Allegri's team sitting 11th in Serie A with three points from two matches. For Anguissa, now 30 and carrying an AI overall of 72 out of 100, the loss crystallised a familiar tension: individual solidity in a collective that has not yet found its footing.
The significance runs deeper than a single result. Allegri acknowledged after the match that Napoli were "too soft" defensively, and separately addressed differences between his own approach and that of his predecessor Antonio Conte. That framing matters for Anguissa specifically. Under Conte, the Cameroonian was a cornerstone of a high-energy midfield built around pressing and positional discipline. Allegri's system asks different questions, and two matches in, the answers are still being negotiated.
Anguissa's numbers through those two Serie A appearances — a 6.40 average rating, no goals, no assists — tell the story of a player doing the unglamorous work without yet imposing himself on outcomes. A 6.40 is functional rather than influential: he is in the right places, but the match-shaping moments have not arrived. That is not unusual at the start of a season, particularly under a new coach recalibrating the squad's identity, but the Como defeat adds urgency to the process.
Allegri also revealed that Scott McTominay had problems against Como, which suggests the midfield unit as a whole is still being stress-tested. Where McTominay fits relative to Anguissa in the Allegri structure is one of the more consequential questions of Napoli's early campaign. The two occupy overlapping territory — both physical, both capable of carrying the ball — and how Allegri resolves that overlap will shape how much space Anguissa has to operate in.
Napoli's goal difference of plus one across two matches, with three scored and two conceded, does not suggest a team in crisis. But a home defeat to Como, a side that had drawn their opener, is the kind of result that forces recalibration. Allegri said there is work to do and that improvement will come. Anguissa, experienced enough to know that early-season turbulence is normal, will be central to whether that improvement materialises in the midfield engine room. His next test will show whether the rating climbs or flatlines.