Napoli 1 secure narrow win over Bologna

Napoli claimed their first home win of the season, beating Bologna 1-0 in a match where chances were at a premium early on.

Max Allegri stormed down the tunnel, relieved as the pressure was finally off, after weeks of mounting tension as the former Juventus boss faced scrutiny at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Napoli can breathe a sigh of relief after Stanislav Lobotka’s goal gave them a hard-fought win that at least slows the crisis.

Bologna’s campaign is still in crisis, picking up just one point from four Serie A matches.

The Partenopei entered the tie after losing three straight matches to Como, Inter, and Arsenal.

Allegri now faces another injury headache, with Alex Meret and Alisson Santos both injured from the midweek Champions League defeat, joining Scott McTominay, Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, Giovane, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Luca Marianucci on the treatment table.

After their first starts of the season against Arsenal, the gaffer paired De Bruyne and Gilmour in midfield, while Vergara got the nod over Lang following disciplinary action.

Bologna’s manager, Domenico Tedesco, is also suspended for two matches. Artem Dovbyk, Riccardo Orsolini, Nadir Zortea, and Oussama El Azzouzi are all on the treatment table, while Lukasz Skorupski got dropped for turning up late to a meeting and replaced by teen Massimo Pessina.

Napoli came close again when De Bruyne was forced to turn over a rolling ball from Leonardo Spinazzola, but Rasmus Hojlund’s diving header just skimmed past the open goal off Matteo Politano’s cross and 18-year-old Pessina misjudged his intervention.

Noa Lang, who had apologized for his indiscipline, and Costantino Favasuli came on at the restart; both fired wide within 40 seconds.

Theate and Ferguson again stepped in to block De Bruyne, who charged through the middle, as both threw themselves in front of the goal just inside the box.

The hosts finally broke the deadlock when Favasuli curled it back from the byline, and Lobotka darted past Marco Libra to slide it home from six yards, squeezing it through Pessina’s legs at the near post.

Pessina didn’t let a second goal slip through, rushing off his line and flashing a hand to block Hojlund’s delicate finish from Lobotka’s pass.

Bologna struggled to find their footing early on, but clawed their way back in the closing minutes as Samuel Mbangula’s shot went straight at Milinkovic-Savic, and Enem couldn’t hold his header down.

After Favasuli stung the keeper’s gloves following a sloppy back pass, Lorenzo Lucca ignored Lang and launched himself on the counter.