Napoli right back Giovanni Di Lorenzo has contributed one assist across three Serie A appearances this season, averaging a rating of 6.68 as Massimiliano Allegri's side sits twelfth in the table with three points from three matches — one win, no draws, two defeats, and a goal difference that reads five scored, five conceded.
The numbers frame a club in a delicate equilibrium. Napoli are not being dismantled defensively, but they are not imposing themselves either. For a player of Di Lorenzo's seniority — 33 years old and the captain — that balance carries particular weight. His role is not simply positional; it is organisational, the kind of presence that prevents a difficult spell from becoming a disorderly one.
The squad's broader difficulties have sharpened that responsibility. Goalkeepers Alex Meret and Alisson Santos both sustained injuries in a Champions League defeat against Arsenal, a blow that forces Allegri's backline to operate with less security behind it than any coach would choose. Di Lorenzo does not control what happens between the posts, but the defensive unit's cohesion — its ability to hold shape and communicate under pressure — runs partly through him.
His AI overall of 76 out of 100 reflects a player still operating at a meaningful level, even if the team around him is finding its footing. One assist in three matches is a modest return in isolation, but for a right back in a system still settling under Allegri's direction, the more telling contribution is likely structural: the positioning, the press-resistance, the decision-making that does not show up in a goal column.
Napoli's transfer window closed without the addition of Gabriel Jesus, a target the club's sporting director confirmed they were unable to secure, with January cited as the next opportunity to address attacking depth. The squad, as currently constituted, will need its experienced players to absorb the uncertainty. Di Lorenzo is the most prominent of them.
Twelve matches remain before the winter break can offer any recalibration. Whether Allegri's Napoli can climb from twelfth depends on far more than one defender — but Di Lorenzo's consistency, quiet and unspectacular as it may appear in the data, is the platform everything else needs to build on.