Allegri says Napoli ran out of fuel after Porto collapse

Max Allegri said Napoli were good for 70 minutes, then faded badly in a 1-4 defeat to FC Porto in the Champions League. He pointed to tired legs, set-piece mistakes and a bench that was too thin to match what Porto could bring on late. FC Porto vs Napoli turned after the hour mark, and Gabri Veiga helped drive the home side's surge.

Allegri's explanation after the defeat

Allegri told football-italia.net: "We made mistakes on two set plays, the team had in my view a good performance up to the 70th minute." Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, in comments translated from Italian, he added: "At a certain point they made five substitutions, on my bench I only had forwards." He also said: "These are errors that unfortunately can happen when you are tired. The tempo is high in the Champions League, and in those final minutes we were struggling, as they hit the crossbar twice just before the goal and were cutting through us fairly easily."

The staffing issue was stark. Napoli were missing 10 players between injuries and ineligibility, and only three senior outfield figures were on the bench. They started in a 3-5-1-1 shape with Kevin De Bruyne supporting Rasmus Hojlund, but the structure did not stop Porto from taking over late.

Porto's late edge

Francesco Farioli said Porto's changes mattered because fresh, physical players arrived when Napoli could not answer from the bench. That lines up with the match swing after 70 minutes, although reports differ on the exact minute of the decisive turn, with some placing it at 71. Porto also scored two goals from set pieces, which is exactly the kind of detail Allegri kept coming back to after the game.

The result leaves Napoli with three defeats in four Champions League matches and only three points from four games. That is a poor return for a side that stayed in the contest for long spells, and the margin for error is already slim with Lazio next on Sunday.