Serie A hot takes: AC Milan's star is no longer Christian Pulisic; Napoli need to find a new coach

Alphadjo Cisse is fueling the Rossoneri, Massimiliano Allegri is struggling in Naples, and Inter are proving they can survive without Lautaro Martinez

Nov 10, 2026 at 4:33 pm ET • 2 min read

The international break is back and that means the Italian Serie A will be taking a break, too, after the opening 11 matchdays of the season. We had some early surprises, as Lazio are currently leading the standings while both Juventus and Napoli struggled, with the Azzurri only collecting 15 points in 11 games under Massimiliano Allegri's management. Now, it's time for our Serie A hot takes. 

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AC Milan's star is no longer Christian Pulisic

Ruben Amorim's AC Milan come from two positive league wins against Inter and Genoa. The Rossoneri are back on track right now fighting for one of the top spots in the Serie A standings and their new star is Italian striker Alphadjo Cisse, who has already scored eight goals in 13 games played between the league and the UEFA Europa League matches. Cisse, who just turned 20 last month, is considered one of the best talents in Italian soccer and was called up by Roberto Mancini for the upcoming UEFA Nations League games with Italy. Even with American striker Christian Pulisic back to his best, Amorim can count on Cisse to provide the qualities he needs to achieve success and so far has delivered more than we could have expected. 

Napoli should still sack Allegri 

Napoli are still in trouble. The Azzurri drew 1-1 against Lazio at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday but as November's international break kicks off there are still several doubts about the position of Massimiliano Allegri, who was hired in the summer to replace Antonio Conte at the club. Napoli have collected only 15 points in 11 games, and are currently 10th in the Serie A standings, 14 points behind Lazio, the current Serie A leaders. Things didn't go much better in the Champions League as Napoli lost three of the four opening games of the league phase, only winning at home against Bodo/Glimt and losing to Arsenal, Villarreal and Porto so far. Will Allegri be given another chance? Most likely, yes.

Inter don't need Lautaro Martinez 

Inter captain Lautaro Martinez suffered an injury last month and missed some of the most important games of the season, including the 3-1 Derby della Madonnina defeat last week. However, Inter strikers are coping well despite the absence of the captain, as Marcus Thuram had an incredibly positive start to the season with six goals scored in the opening 10 matches, while Francesco Pio Esposito has scored three so far, including the opening and crucial goal scored against Como over the weekend. Inter needed the goals of their strikers when Lautaro wasn't available, and they delivered. Now, the Argentine striker will be back after the break and will lead the Nerazzurri in the key months of the 2026-27 campaign both domestically and in the upcoming UCL games.