SSC Napoli and RCD Espanyol played to a scoreless draw in Napoli’s final friendly at Castel di Sangro, though the match was anything but friendly. The Spanish club was often late with their challenges, particularly in the dying minutes of the first half.
In the 44th minute, after shepherding the ball out for a throw-in, Victor Osimhen collided with a substitute Espanyol player warming up nearly the touch line. A scrum between players of both clubs promptly ensued.
Moments later, both Stanislav Lobotka and Hirving Lozano were caught by late tackles in quick succession. The tackles caught the attention of Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis, who had a few words with the assistant before returning to the Napoli bench. De Laurentiis had yet to attend any of Napoli’s summer friendlies prior to Saturday.
Ironically, the Espanyol bench were quite vocal after Juan Jesus fouled Joselu in the second half. That drew the attention of Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti. “45 fouls to 10 in the first half, stay seated,” said the Spalletti to the Espanyol bench. Moments later, Brian Olivan was shown a red card, but Espanyol were allowed to complete the match with 11 men.
The Blanquiazules, who finished in 14th position in La Liga in 2021/22, appeared to be preparing for a difficult campaign ahead. They were content to sit back and defend, which frustrated the Napoli attack. For the second consecutive match, Osimhen had numerous opportunities to score but failed to find the back of the goal.
10 minutes into the match, Lozano flicked a header to Osimhen in the area. Espanyol goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte was leaning the wrong way but managed to get a foot and the shot towards the near post. Lecomte foiled Osimhen again on the ensuing corner kick with a quick reaction save on the header from the Nigeria international.
Osimhen may not have scored, but had it not been for his goal-line intervention in the just before the hour mark, Napoli might have lost the match. That clearance came seconds after the first of two excellent saves by Nikita Contini, who replaced Alex Meret at the break.
Napoli closed their retreat at Castel di Sangro with a record of one win, three draws and no losses. The players will have two days off before resuming training at Castel Volturno. There, preparations will being for the opening match of the season against Hellas Verona on August 15.
