Kevin De Bruyne's Napoli left San Siro on Saturday having surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 against Inter, a result that drops Allegri's side to 13th in Serie A with three points from three matches — one win, no draws, two defeats.
The manner of the loss is the part that lingers. Napoli had Inter beaten and let it slip. Lautaro Martínez sealed the comeback victory for Inter, completing a reversal that Inter coach Cristian Chivu described as a great advertisement for Italian football — generous framing for a team that had just been gifted the points. Allegri, for his part, acknowledged that Napoli need to improve, and noted that the result demonstrated football's capacity for illogic. He was not wrong on either count.
For De Bruyne specifically, the picture is one of a player still finding his footing in Serie A. Two appearances into the 2026-27 season, the 35-year-old Belgian has yet to register a goal or an assist, carrying an average rating of 6.50 across those matches. An AI overall of 83 out of 100 suggests the underlying quality is not in question; the output, so far, has not matched it. At his age and with his profile, De Bruyne was not signed to be a passenger through a difficult opening stretch — he was signed to be the solution to one.
The structural problem is Napoli's defensive fragility. Five goals conceded in three matches, five scored: a team that can attack but cannot hold. The Inter defeat crystallised that tension perfectly. A side that builds a two-goal lead and loses has not solved its defensive problem; it has simply postponed the reckoning.
De Bruyne's influence on Napoli's attacking output is difficult to isolate without assist data that reflects his actual involvement in build-up play, but a team that has scored five times in three matches is not toothless. The question Allegri must answer is whether the midfield — with De Bruyne at its centre — can impose enough control to protect what the attack creates.
Thirteen games remain before the winter break. Napoli's position is uncomfortable but not yet critical. De Bruyne has time to impose himself on this league. The urgency, though, is real.