Napoli snatch a late draw against Roma in Serie A

Napoli moved up to 50 points in third place, three behind Roma, who squandered the chance to draw level with the southern side. Roma, however, benefited from Juventus FC losing 4–3 to leaders Inter Milan in a thrilling “Derby d’Italia” at San Siro, allowing them to climb to fourth, one point ahead of the Turin club.

Napoli remain 11 points adrift of leaders Inter and three behind city rivals AC Milan, who also have a game in hand.

Recent struggles

Napoli entered the match on the back of a shock Coppa Italia exit, losing on penalties to Como 1907 after a 1–1 draw.

Roma, who had no midweek fixture following an early cup elimination, missed the opportunity to claim a second consecutive league victory.

Defeat would have deepened Napoli’s crisis under veteran coach Antonio Conte, especially after their Champions League exit. Even with the draw, their title defence looks increasingly unlikely, sitting 11 points off the pace.

Match highlights

Roma took an early lead through Dutch forward Donyell Malen, on loan from Aston Villa F.C., finishing off a swift counter-attack in the seventh minute after a cross from Spain’s Bryan Zaragoza.

Napoli hit back before half-time when Leonardo Spinazzola met a pass from Eljif Elmas, beat two defenders and fired a powerful strike that deflected past Serbian goalkeeper Mile Svilar.

Roma regained the lead in the 70th minute from the penalty spot after Amir Rrahmani fouled Brazilian winger Wesley França, with Malen converting confidently.

But Napoli’s late substitute Alisson Santos, on loan from Sporting CP, levelled matters with a superb low drive from the edge of the area in the 82nd minute, earning his side a valuable point.

Bologna keep European hopes alive

Elsewhere, Bologna FC 1909 revived their slim hopes of qualifying for European competition with a 2–1 away win over Torino FC.

The victory ended a run of four straight league defeats. Bologna had previously managed just one win in 12 matches and had recently been knocked out of the Coppa Italia on penalties by SS Lazio.

They climbed to eighth on 33 points, nine behind sixth-placed Atalanta BC.

Goals came from an own goal by Croatia’s Nikola Vlašić and Argentina’s Santiago Castro, although Vlašić briefly made amends by equalising.

Fan protest

The stadium appeared largely empty as Torino supporters escalated their protest against the club and president Urbano Cairo by boycotting home matches.

Torino sit 14th with 27 points, having recorded just one win in their last seven league outings.