Napoli did not find serenity at the Diego Armando Maradona so much as fight their way back towards it. A 4-3 Champions League victory over Bodø/Glimt ended a run of two defeats and delivered Max Allegri’s first win in the competition with the club, but it also exposed the fragility that has accompanied recent weeks. The result mattered most: on a loud night before 40,000 supporters, Napoli led three times and were chased to the final seconds.
The coach and the club
Allegri had asked for the extra margin in focus, character and approach that he felt his side had been missing. His players supplied an immediate answer. Matteo Politano struck after just 54 seconds, the fastest Napoli goal in Champions League history, converting Leonardo Spinazzola’s delivery on the volley. Politano dedicated the goal to his partner Alessandra, who is expecting their child.
It was the start of the authoritative opening Allegri had wanted, yet the broader pattern of the evening was less straightforward. Napoli created through Rasmus Hojlund and Noa Lang, while Nikita Haikin made important interventions for the visitors. Then came another lapse. Jens Petter Hauge, who had scored at this stadium against Napoli around seven years earlier, levelled in the 27th minute after a pass from Sondre Fet. Napoli’s midfield had left too much room in front of the defence.
Scott McTominay restored the lead after combining with Kevin De Bruyne. His finish took deflections from Jostein Gundersen and Haikin, but it brought relief rather than control. Bodø/Glimt equalised again around the hour when Kasper Høgh, on 15 goals for the season, turned between Spinazzola and Rafa Marín and found the far corner.
Napoli had to endure a period in which the stadium sensed another setback. De Bruyne, deployed in the central organising role, did much of the recovery work as well as creating. After one misplaced Meret pass, he tracked back to deny Høgh; later, having won possession in midfield, he set up McTominay, whose shot struck the post.
The decisive moment arrived about 15 minutes from time. Politano delivered from the right and McTominay rose above Fredrik Sjøvold to head Napoli in front for a third time. Giovane then beat his full-back late on and sent in a cross-shot that reached the net following two Bodø/Glimt defensive touches. Fet headed in at the last, making it 4-3 and ensuring the closing moments remained anxious.
- Politano gave Napoli a record-quick Champions League lead.
- Hauge equalised before McTominay put the hosts back ahead before half-time.
- Høgh made it 2-2, then McTominay’s header shifted the contest again.
- Giovane’s late effort created Napoli’s fourth before Fet reduced the margin in stoppage time.
A victory that does not erase the work
Allegri’s bolder selections brought rewards. De Bruyne supplied McTominay’s first goal and played with a level of pressing and defensive responsibility that Napoli required. Politano, responding well after his difficult Villarreal outing, contributed a goal and an assist, while Lang carried a threat despite failing to convert chances.
Hojlund had opportunities but remained without a goal. Napoli will need more from him if they are to compete at the highest level, and they will also need to address the repeated interruptions to their concentration. The side looked capable of quick passing and attacking the spaces in the opening spell, but too often allowed the match to swing away from them.
Bodø/Glimt deserve their share of the story. Kjetil Knutsen’s team regrouped after conceding almost immediately, stayed patient, defended deep when necessary and accelerated sharply when openings appeared. Their players gathered together after Politano’s early goal, a small gesture that reflected their composure. They recovered twice and continued until the end, with Fet’s header embodying a team unwilling to accept defeat quietly.
From Europe to Sunday
Napoli and Bodø/Glimt had previously met only in the 1976-77 European Cup Winners’ Cup, when Napoli won both legs: 2-0 away and 1-0 at home. This reunion was far less controlled, but the Maradona celebrated at the final whistle after supporters had kept singing through every reversal.
For Allegri, the win removes at least some of the immediate pressure after a dark stretch and pushes talk of dismissal further away. It is not a final answer to Napoli’s problems, nor a reason for broad declarations. It is, however, a result from which the coach and club can begin again before Roma arrive on Sunday.
