Houdini act in Venice leaves Massimiliano Allegri searching for an escape at Napoli | Nicky Bandini

Venezia beat Napoli 1-0 to claim their first win of the Serie A season, giving new manager Davide Nicola an impressive start and deepening scrutiny of Massimiliano Allegri’s position at Napoli. The result matters because Venezia had lost their opening six matches, while Napoli’s latest defeat added to a run of poor results across domestic and European competition.

Akor Adams scored early in the second half after a long ball was misjudged by Napoli defender Amir Rrahmani. Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stankovic then saved a Kevin De Bruyne penalty and made several other key stops, including a late one-handed save from Stanislav Lobotka. Allegri has now overseen five defeats in nine games; his decision to start De Bruyne, Rasmus Højlund and Alisson Santos on the bench also raised questions about squad selection and rotation.