McTominay inspires Napoli to 3-3 home draw with Roma as Allegri says he is ‘not lucid enough’ to talk
Scott McTominay starred as Napoli were held to a 3-3 draw by Roma at Napoli’s home in a Serie A match on Saturday. Massimiliano Allegri said he was “for the first time in 25 years, not lucid enough to expand on this game” after being sent off following Roma’s late equaliser.
McTominay returned to action after missing all of September while recovering from an ablation procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat; the club described the arrhythmia as mild and benign and said the intervention was a complete success. Napoli had struggled without him, picking up five losses from their first nine matches in all competitions, and his first two starts back came in defeats to Villarreal and Venezia, prompting speculation about Allegri’s future. Midweek McTominay had scored twice as Napoli won 4-3 against Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League, and on Saturday he broke his Serie A duck.
Frank Anguissa opened the scoring with an overhead effort before McTominay increased the lead early in the second half, a 48th-minute sequence that saw Pierluigi Gollini claw a close-range effort out from inside the goal before the midfielder forced the ball back in and finished after the goalkeeper pushed the rebound away; Matteo Politano was credited with the assist. Napoli had other chances to extend a 1-0 lead before half-time — Mathías Olivera had a point-blank effort hacked off the line and Bryan Cristante hit the post for Roma.
Roma rallied in the final third of the game when Matías Soulé, after a one-two with Donyell Malen, curled a shot from outside the box on 69 minutes. Leonardo Balerdi then crashed home from a corner to level by the 74th minute, only for McTominay to respond with a long-range finish from almost 30 yards that nestled inside the near post after Roma failed to clear from a Leonardo Spinazzola attempt.
The contest remained open and Roma drew level again in the 89th minute when Wesley’s cross found Balerdi to head home. After the match Gian Piero Gasperini praised Soulé, calling him “in his prime” and “the driving force of this team,” and added: “His goal was something crazy; the foot and leg speed reminds you of something [Leo] Messi would do.” Gasperini noted Soulé, the 23-year-old Argenta forward signed from Frosinone in the summer of 2024, has begun this month with a first senior appearance for Argenta followed by two assists in a Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.
Allegri was sent off following Roma’s third goal and, while he initially said he did not know why, he was later overheard outside the changing rooms insinuating the opposition had received favourable treatment; La Gazzetta dello Sport reported him protesting: “Last year they handed you [Roma] the Champions League and I paid for it at Milan.” The episode continued when Allegri cut short an interview on Dazn.
The match contained several notable incidents: Sam Beukema collapsed during the buildup to Roma’s last goal after a tussle with Balerdi, Napoli had three goals disallowed or marginally prevented at different moments, and Napoli’s three strikes matched the total Roma had conceded in the previous seven Serie A games combined. Other scores from the round included: Torino 3-2 Monza, Cagliari 0-2 Bologna, Como 2-0 Sassuolo, Lazio 2-1 Parma, Inter 2-1 Fiorentina, Atalanta 4-4 Frosinone, Genoa 1-0 Venezia, Lecce 0-2 Juventus, Udinese 0-2 Milan.
Napoli sit 10th in the table and, the report notes, with McTominay fit they are more than capable of improving on that position and competing for a top-four spot as the season progresses.