Kevin De Bruyne put in his best performance in Napoli blue on Saturday, scoring a first-half penalty and adding a late third to seal a comfortable 3-0 win over Frosinone at the Maradona Stadium. Lang added the second just three minutes after De Bruyne opened the scoring, and by half-time the match was effectively over. Frosinone’s goalkeeper Palmisani kept the scoreline respectable with five saves, but he could not prevent Napoli from recording a clean sheet that lifts them level on points with clubs pushing toward the top six.
Key Moments
- 28′, VAR reviewed an incident involving Hojlund, setting up the penalty that would open the scoring a minute later.
- 29′, K. De Bruyne converted the resulting penalty to put Napoli ahead.
- 32′, Lang doubled the lead just three minutes later, giving Napoli a commanding 2-0 cushion before the half hour was out.
- 45′, Frosinone made a first-half substitution, bringing on Terzic for Masini at the break, a sign that head coach Alvini was already rethinking his approach.
- 61′, Napoli manager Allegri used two simultaneous changes, introducing McTominay for David Neres and Lucca for Hojlund.
- 90′, K. De Bruyne finished off a Giovane assist to complete the scoring and his brace, putting the result beyond all doubt.
Tactical Breakdown
Napoli’s 3-4-2-1 gave De Bruyne the freedom to operate in the half-space between Frosinone’s midfield and defensive lines, and the Belgian made the most of it. Allegri’s side finished with 51% possession, 19 total shots and an xG of 2.8, which comfortably matched what they put in the net. The eight shots on target against a team that conceded just once in three Serie A wins beforehand reflects how consistently Napoli got into dangerous areas, particularly in that sharp 28-to-32-minute burst where two goals arrived in the space of four minutes.
The double substitution at 61 minutes signaled Allegri’s willingness to manage legs with an eye on the schedule. McTominay and Lucca came on with the game secured, and Giovane, introduced at 72 minutes for Lang, still managed to register the assist for De Bruyne’s second in the dying seconds. It was a telling cameo from a forward who had fewer than 20 minutes on the pitch.
Frosinone finished with 17 shots but only one on target, and their xG of 1.03 flatters them slightly given how little Palmisani’s teammates created against a Napoli back three that was rarely stretched. Alvini’s 4-2-3-1 failed to get Kvernadze or Schmid into the match in meaningful ways, and the early two-goal deficit effectively forced Frosinone to chase a game that Napoli were never going to let them back into.
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Verdict
Napoli sit eighth in Serie A on 10 points after six matches, but the manner of this win, particularly De Bruyne’s all-round performance, gives Allegri’s side real momentum heading into the next block of fixtures. Frosinone, also on 10 points coming in but now eighth and ninth separated by goal difference, will take some comfort from Alvini’s post-match comments that the scoreline did not reflect the game, though the xG gap tells a different story.