Napoli’s Champions League campaign finally found its first points in a frantic 4-3 win over Bodø/Glimt at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, a result that stopped a difficult run after defeats to Venezia and Villarreal. It was not an uncomplicated recovery, and Massimiliano Allegri’s side were tested repeatedly, but Scott McTominay’s first goals of the season gave the evening its decisive turn.
A night that demanded a response
Napoli arrived with five defeats from their opening nine matches of the season, their worst start under the De Laurentiis ownership. The pressure around the club had grown after the reverse at Venezia in Serie A and the Champions League loss to Villarreal, but sporting director Giovanni Manna made clear before kick-off that Allegri’s position was secure.
- Manna said there was continual dialogue within the club in defeat as well as victory, and insisted that Allegri was “not under discussion”.
- He called for greater concentration and more consistent results, while accepting that the squad needs to become younger.
- Manna also said Napoli had hoped to take a further step forward this season, but had not managed it and must now work through the moment.
- McTominay, still rebuilding his physical condition, said the group’s response had to be simple: “Keep quiet and work.”
Allegri had asked his team not to play with anxiety. He expected Bodø/Glimt to defend deeply and warned Napoli against assuming a team-mate would always correct an error, a reference to the problems seen at Venezia. He also stressed the need to remain in the game until the final whistle, noting that Napoli had faded badly in the final stages against Villarreal.
The coach selected Alex Meret behind Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Rafa Marín and Leonardo Spinazzola. Frank Anguissa returned in midfield alongside McTominay and Kevin De Bruyne, while Noa Lang, Rasmus Højlund and Matteo Politano formed the front three. Stanislav Lobotka and Billy Gilmour had begun among the substitutes after international commitments, with Anguissa only recently back from injury.
Politano starts it, McTominay restores control
There were around 40,000 supporters inside the Maradona, including approximately 1,800 travelling fans from Norway, and Napoli gave them an immediate release. Politano scored after only 50 seconds, meeting Spinazzola’s delivery with a volley after a costly back-pass in the Villarreal match had remained fresh in the memory.
Napoli pressed aggressively in the opening spell. McTominay had an effort blocked, Lang forced a save and Di Lorenzo tested Nikita Haikin from distance. Yet the match soon exposed the unease that had followed Napoli into the night. Meret under-hit a pass and De Bruyne had to clear for a corner before Bodø/Glimt drew level in the 27th minute.
Former Milan forward Jens Petter Hauge bent a finish beyond Meret after the visitors worked their way near the Napoli area. Lang then wasted a clear chance to make it 2-0 when he was played through by De Bruyne and shot at Haikin, while Meret later came off his line for a long ball and was fortunate that Philip Zinckernagel?
Napoli regained the lead before half-time. De Bruyne supplied McTominay, whose shot took a deflection off a defender on its way past the goalkeeper in the 41st minute. It was the Scotland midfielder’s first goal of the campaign and sent Napoli in at the break ahead.
Bodø/Glimt keep coming before Napoli find the finish
The second half followed the pattern Allegri had feared: Napoli had moments to put the contest away, but Bodø/Glimt continued to find encouragement.
- McTominay struck the post in the 60th minute after De Bruyne broke into the area and picked him out.
- Meret made an important close-range stop as the Norwegian side pressed for an equaliser.
- Anguissa was booked before being replaced by Lobotka in the 59th minute.
- Højlund also received a yellow card.
The equaliser arrived in the 63rd minute. Andreas Helmersen drove a powerful diagonal effort past Meret after finding room left by Napoli’s defence. Bodø/Glimt then threatened to turn the match completely, with Ulrik Saltnes?
Napoli’s goalkeeper was required again to keep out a dangerous low effort from captain Patrick Berg, while the Maradona crowd made its frustration heard during a sustained spell of visiting possession. Allegri prepared changes as the physical demands began to show, particularly for Anguissa and McTominay, neither of whom had yet built full match fitness.
The response came in the 75th minute. Politano supplied a precise cross and McTominay rose highest to head Napoli back in front, completing his first double of the season. Allegri soon introduced Mathías Olivera, Giovane and Sam Beukema for Lang, Politano and Spinazzola.
Late drama, and a first Champions League win
Napoli eventually appeared to have settled the contest in the 88th minute. Giovane won the ball on the flank, drove into the area and sent in a ball that became a shot after a defensive touch from Bodø/Glimt defender Odin Bjørtuft. The own goal made it 4-2.
The visitors still found time to reduce the deficit in the third minute of stoppage time, but the final whistle followed moments later. Napoli had survived a match full of warnings as well as encouragement, taking their first three points of the Champions League league phase.
Allegri’s immediate assessment was blunt: Napoli cannot continue to concede goals in this fashion. Before his post-match interview, he shared a light-hearted on-air exchange with Gian Piero Gasperini, whom he will face in the coming Serie A weekend. For Napoli, that next league fixture now carries a different weight: the European result offers relief, but the task is to turn one turbulent victory into continuity.
