Max Allegri was left enraged after Napoli’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Roma, questioning how match officials treated him after he was sent off for dissent. The coach insisted he had said nothing that warranted the red card and sarcastically suggested he might be better off staying away from the touchline entirely.

Napoli built a 2-0 lead through Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa and Scott McTominay, but Roma responded with goals from Matias Soulé and Leonardo Balerdi inside five minutes. McTominay put Napoli back in front from distance to make it 3-2, only for Balerdi to level with a late header. Allegri and his players felt Sam Beukema had been fouled by Balerdi in the build-up.

Allegri sent off after Napoli 3-3 Roma thriller

“The fourth official called the referee and got me sent off, but I said absolutely nothing,” Allegri told DAZN Italia. He complained that he was repeatedly punished for moving on the touchline, while other coaches seemed able to approach the pitch without similar consequences.

“Next time I will have to sit on the bench and not move, because every time I move, I get sent off,” he said, adding that he had paid €80,000 in fines last season. Allegri sarcastically thanked fourth official Saccani before congratulating his players on their performance.

Despite his anger over the ending, Allegri felt Napoli had played well against a strong opponent, including defensively. He pointed to their opportunities to extend the lead to 3-0 and their 3-2 advantage before conceding again, insisting that maintaining the same spirit would help the team climb the table.

Napoli defensive problems and Allegri’s tactical response

Napoli supporters have become increasingly frustrated with the goals their team is conceding. The 3-3 draw followed a 4-3 Champions League victory over Bodo/Glimt, while Napoli had taken only one point from their previous two Serie A matches, having lost 3-1 to bottom-placed Venezia before dropping their lead against Roma.

The result also meant Napoli had yet to record consecutive victories in any competition this season. Allegri acknowledged that the team had dropped too many points and admitted that his anger over the late equaliser was affecting his ability to assess the match clearly.

Asked about the number of goals Napoli were conceding despite his reputation for defensive football, Allegri responded sarcastically that he had changed his approach and was now focused on attack. He added that he had tried to use four forwards whenever possible since the start of the season.

Hojlund drought and Badiashile injury update

Rasmus Hojlund has now gone eight competitive appearances without scoring for Napoli. Allegri defended the striker’s contribution, saying he had worked for the team and found himself in three favourable situations during the match, including a first-half header. The coach remained confident that a goal would eventually come.

Napoli also suffered an injury concern when Benoit Badiashile limped off with a muscular problem in the second half. Allegri said the club would assess the issue over the following 48 hours.

Asked whether he viewed the situation as a glass half-full or half-empty, Allegri declined to offer a clear verdict. He said that, for the first time in 25 years, he was not in the right state of mind to provide a definitive assessment of the match, ending the interview by apologising and wishing reporters a good night.

Lazio remain at the summit of the Serie A table thanks to Kenneth Taylor and an unlucky own goal from Diego Carlos, while Parma suffer their third defeat in a row.

The Biancocelesti had a big chance to strengthen their lead on equal points with Inter and to pull away from the chasing pack after their 3-0 away win against Juventus. Albert Gudmundsson, Nicolò Rovella and Adam Marusic were still unavailable, but Kenneth Taylor had shaken off a knock and confirmed the same starting eleven that was fielded in Turin. Andrea Pinamonti, on the other hand, was dealing with a sore throat.

Parma had lost both matches played since Alberto Gilardino replaced Carlos Cuesta, falling 3-0 to both Inter and Torino. Nesta Elphege, sidelined by appendicitis, joined the list of unavailable players, which also included Pontus Almqvist and Hans Nicolussi Caviglia.

David Romero had the first chance after six minutes, driving forward from midfield and forcing Christos Mandas to save with his legs at the near post.

Davide Frattesi appealed in vain for a penalty after going down under pressure from Mariano Troilo. Shortly afterwards, Mandas was called into action again on a counterattack, producing a fine stop to deny El-Bilal Touré’s header.

Reda Belahyane tested Edoardo Corvi with a shot from distance, but in the 24th minute Gustav Isaksen came very close to scoring: his header from Mattia Zaccagni’s soft cross struck the crossbar.

Moments later, Romero broke away on the counter once more, forcing Mandas to intervene again.

Lazio thought they had taken the lead in the 41st minute, when Isaksen latched onto Tijjani Noslin’s through ball and beat Corvi as he came out. However, offside was confirmed because the Dane’s knee and toes were beyond the defensive line.

A sudden long-range strike from Taylor tested Corvi, but the Biancocelesti’s opening goal only arrived after the break.

Belahyane’s through ball was intended for Zaccagni, but it was deflected by Diego Carlos. Taylor pounced on the ball and, from the edge of the box, curled a left-footed effort with the inside of his boot into the far bottom corner.

Lazio came close to doubling their lead shortly afterwards, when Frattesi fired over from around twelve metres as he tried to divert an inaccurate shot from Romano Floriani Mussolini.

Parma collapsed and made a serious error while building from the back. Nuno Tavares was thus able to volley the cross coming from the left, while Diego Carlos, in an attempt to stop Noslin from tapping the ball into the net, inadvertently turned it into his own goal.

In the move, Corvi accidentally took a blow to the back of the head, suffering a deep cut.

A deflected shot from Zaccagni went just over the crossbar. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru fired high after a promising run, Frattesi shot wide from a Manuel Lazzari assist, and an exhausted Nuno Tavares failed to make the most of Dele-Bashiru’s pass.

Parma’s only real chance after the break came in stoppage time, when Simone Lontani unleashed a curling right-footed effort that went just wide.

Shortly afterwards, still deep in stoppage time, a cross from Lontani on the left byline troubled Mandas. The ball bounced off the inside of the far post and goal-line technology confirmed it had fully crossed the goal line.

It was the first goal Parma have scored in the Gilardino era.

For Lazio, this is the best start to a season in their history: seven wins and a 2-2 draw against Milan.