Allegri: Napoli do not deserve to collapse like this, and the defence has become a source of shame

Massimiliano Allegri has held his SSC Napoli team responsible for their 3-1 loss to Villarreal, emphasizing the need to maintain focus and defensive solidity. The team remains without points after the first two rounds of the group stage in the UEFA Champions League.

Allegri said: "UEFA Champions League matches are like this; after conceding the equaliser at 1-1, we cannot allow ourselves to concede a second goal in this manner. In Europe, we must approach matches differently; we cannot afford to lose our focus this quickly."

Regarding the defensive problems that emerged during the match, Napoli's coach said: "It has become almost embarrassing to defend well, our defenders did their defensive work well too, but we did not work as a team."

He added: "A strong team does not collapse the way we did. We made some mistakes in decision-making this evening as well, just like we did against Frosinone. You can lose, but not in this way."

He explained: "What happened with De Bruyne? I asked him to move to the midfield and push McTominay forward, but we didn't understand each other."

Allegri concluded his statements by emphasizing that defensive issues also affect the team's ability to create attacking threats, saying: "We created many attacking opportunities, but we concede too many goals at the back. Without defensive solidity, you become less dangerous in attack as well. We have the quality to score goals, and Lorenzo should have been quicker to react to the second goal."