Serie A Week 5: Napoli's Allegri under fire, Roma challenges Inter, Pulisic nets first goal

The first stint of the 2026-2027 Serie A season is now over as the international break kicks off this week. We already had some surprises and some early upsets this season, but it's now time to reflect on the last weekend of action in September as the Italian league will resume on October 10. Inter and AS Roma played out a thrilling draw at the Stadio Olimpico in one of the best matches we've seen so far, while AC Milan secured a win, with Christian Pulisic scoring his first goal of the season after making his first start of the campaign against Lecce on Sunday. Now, time for some hot takes.

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Napoli should replace Max Allegri

Massimiliano Allegri might be in trouble soon. Napoli struggled to start off the season, as the Azzurri have collected only seven points in the 2026-27 season after five Serie A matches compared to the 12 in 2025-26 season and ten in 2024-25 under Antonio Conte. Their totals in the previous four seasons were eight points in 2023-24 under Rudi Garcia, 11 in 2022-23 and 15 in 2021-22 under Luciano Spalletti, 12 in 2020-21 under Gennaro Gattuso, and nine in 2019-20 under Carlo Ancelotti. After the break, Allegri will need to completely change the trajectory of the team's results before the pressure on his job increases. However, it doesn't look like the team and the manager have clicked so far, while the fans continue to be quite doubtful about the former Juventus and AC Milan manager, especially after a disappointing start to the season.

> Billy Gilmour marca el primer gol del domingo: el Napoli se adelanta ⚽️ #FiorentinaNapoli 0-1 pic.twitter.com/pt5KJpAnWE — Lega Serie A (@SerieA_ES) September 20, 2026

AS Roma will be in the title fight all season

Gian Piero Gasperini's AS Roma showed their potential again, this time against the Serie A title holders on Saturday. The match played at the Stadio Olimpico ended 2-2 after the two opening goals scored by Manu Kone and the two scored by Lautaro Martinez in the second half. Despite the late comeback of the away side, AS Roma can be happy about the result and a performance that showed, once again, how the team managed by Gasperini can challenge Inter in the long term this season. It's too early to say if AS Roma will be a Scudetto candidate, but the path is definitely the right one.

> MANU KONÉ HAS SCORED TWICE AGAINST INTER 🔥 The French midfielder is doing it all himself as Roma go 2-0 up in this heavyweight Serie A clash 🐺 Watch Serie A on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/y0QTqYh9UG — CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 19, 2026

Pulisic is back

And Christian Pulisic is finally back! The American striker, who won't be part of the USMNT matches during the break for the team coached by Mauricio Pochettino, scored the opening goal of the 3-0 win of AC Milan against Lecce, marking his first goal of the season after delivering his first assist last week against Lazio. Pulisic, who suffered an injury in the last match of the 2026 World Cup with the United States, has struggled in the pre-season and started to train with the team, only before the kickoff of the Serie A season, slowing down his return to action under the new Rossoneri coach Ruben Amorim. But now, he's back.

> CHRISTIAN PULISIC OPENS THE SCORING FOR AC MILAN 💥 The American opens his account for the season at the San Siro on its 100th anniversary weekend 🏟️ Watch Serie A on @paramountplus 📺 pic.twitter.com/6AQoRjpO9Q — CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 20, 2026

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/week-5-serie-a-hot-takes-napoli-should-replace-max-allegri-as-roma-will-challenge-inter-in-scudetto-race/)._