Allegri: ‘De Bruyne doesn’t like new role, what I told Hojlund’ in penalty farce

NAPLES, ITALY - OCTOBER 10: Massimiliano Allegri, Manager of SSC Napoli, gestures during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Frosinone Calcio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on October 10, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Max Allegri reveals he is trying to convince Kevin De Bruyne to take a new Napoli role, but ‘he doesn’t like it very much,’ while he jokes about the penalty chaos against Frosinone.

The Partenopei were feeling the pressure after a difficult start to the season and with injuries continuing to pile up.

It was therefore decided to switch to a 3-4-3 formation, giving Benoit Badiashile his first start, with David Neres finally fit again after a long lay-off.

The tactic certainly worked, as Kevin De Bruyne converted a penalty and Lang followed up the parried Giovanni Di Lorenzo effort moments later.

However, Rasmus Hojlund had originally stepped up and saw his effort parried by Lorenzo Palmisani, so when VAR ruled it had to be retaken for encroachment, Allegri intervened.

“Hojlund came over and said ‘sorry coach, but De Bruyne gave me the ball.’ I told him ‘Then you should’ve given it back again,’” explained Allegri on Sky Sport Italia.

De Bruyne completed his brace with the last kick of the game for the 3-0 result on a Giovane pull-back.

Allegri trying to convince De Bruyne

“The best thing was the aggression and hunger we showed at the start of the game,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.

“If we want to analyse it technically, there were six or seven situations where we got into good positions and didn’t even manage to get a shot on goal. Frosinone are a team who can go on the counter if you don’t finish that move, it turns into a ping-pong match and forces you to use up a lot of energy.

“In the second half, we were a little more defensive, as there were many players back from a long time out and they were getting tired. We did well to control the situation, then had the chances that we simply cannot get wrong, we needed to make the right passes when two on one or three on two.”

The 3-4-3 formation and that deeper role for De Bruyne does give him the opportunity to spray passes around, dictating the tempo and not having to run quite as much as he did before in a 4-2-3-1.

After a break for international duty where he scored twice in Belgium’s 3-0 victory over Turkiye, and provided an assist in the 2-0 win away to Italy, are we finally going to see that De Bruyne playing for Napoli?

“He is an extraordinary player, and in my view if he’s working as a playmaker in that midfield pairing, he’s even better,” insisted Allegri.

“I told him, he can extend his career by another couple of years if he plays in that position. He doesn’t like it very much, as he enjoys himself more in an advanced role, but this evening he did really well.

“Let’s not forget, he was out injured for a long time last year, Anguissa and Gilmour were injured too, so it takes a little time and patience to get everyone in good shape. The most important thing is to be more solid and protect the defence, we still allowed too many opportunities.”

Giovanni Di Lorenzo seemed to be relishing a more advanced position instead and was involved in the Lang goal.

“Giovanni has always been able to make those runs, he did very well with the give and go situations down the right today. We had two or three situations with Lang, Hojlund and Neres where we didn’t finish the move with a shot on goal.”

This was the first start for Badiashile, who had previously been lambasted by fans and the media for his costly error against Inter.

“You cannot judge players on errors, we all make mistakes, and sometimes they can cost you the game,” insisted Allegri.

“Maybe it was my mistake for rotating three defenders, I should’ve added one without moving the others. He had been out for a while, so must be evaluated over the course of a whole campaign.”

Napoli now catch Frosinone in the Serie A table on 10 points and must prepare for the Champions League, where they visit Villarreal on Tuesday evening.

They’re playing catch-up there too, having lost the opener 1-0 at home to Arsenal.