After an entertaining but scoreless first half, Valerio Boffelli made two excellent saves late in the match to earn an important point against Sassuolo.
Lineup
Nicolò Frustalupi made no changes to the squad he fielded in Napoli’s 0-2 victory over Cesena.
(3-4-2-1): Boffelli; Hysaj, Barba, Obaretin; Acampa, Gioielli, Alastuey, Boni; Sahli, Spavone; Rossi
First Half
Neither side scored in the opening 45 minutes, but it was an entertaining half, with Sassuolo creating the more dangerous chances.
Sassuolo’s first shot on target came in the 8th minute after Edoardo Pieragnolo dribbled straight through the middle of the park. He went for goal but the shot took a slight deflection before popping up in the air and ultimately it was an easy save for Valerio Boffelli.
Napoli threatened ten minutes later from a corner kick. Francesco’s Gioielli’s header appeared to hit the outstretched arm of Kevin Leone in the area, but the penalty wasn’t given. Bilel Sahli hustled to win the ball back before Davide Acampa played a cross from the left wing. Gioielli controlled the ball at the edge of the area then turned and shot on the bounce, but the midfielder’s effort finished wide of the mark.
Sassuolo responded with a chance of their own from the corner flag. Boffelli got a hand on the inswinging corner kick before central defender Lazar Kaknic lobbed the ball back into the danger area. Right winger Luca D’Andrea controlled the ball with his back to the goal, turned and shot from ten yards out, but Sahli made an important block in front of his own goal. The rebound fell to midfielder Federico Casolari outside the area, but his effort rolled wide of the far post.
The back and forth affair continued with Napoli creating their best chance of the half a minute later. Lorenzo Russo stood his ground on the long ball from Boffelli. That allowed Alessandro Spavone to control the ball on the bounce before blasting a powerful shot on target, but Sassuolo goalkeeper Gioele Zacchi was well-positioned to make the save.
Napoli came close again five minutes later from another cross by Acampa. Rossi won the header in the area but didn’t get much power on the shot as his head collided with that of Pieragnolo. Fortunately, both players were able to continue.
Sassuolo closed the half well, creating four chances in the span of four minutes. In the 34th minute, midfielder Kevin Bruno played a lovely give-and-go with striker Flavio Russo in the middle of the park before going for goal. However, like Casolari ten minutes prior, the shot rolled wide of the far post.
Less than a minute later, Russo was dispossessed at midfield after a Boffelli goal kick. Bruno immediately played the ball forward to D’Andrea, who was Sassuolo’s biggest threat in the half. The winger dribbled into the area before cutting towards the by line, but Nosa Obaretin made an important block on D’Andrea’s shot with his weaker right foot.
Sassuolo got their best chance of the half three minutes later. Russo played a deep cross from the left wing. D’Andrea controlled the ball in the area before teeing up Leone at the penalty spot. The attacking midfielder was left unmarked but the pass was bouncing and he skied the shot over the bar.
Second Half
The second half was less eventful than the first, but both sides still had their chances.
In the 64th minute, Daniel Hysaj won a 50/50 ball at midfield before Jorge Alastuey, who was unusually quiet in this match, played a long vertical pass to Spavone just outside the Sassuolo area. The forward flicked the ball to Sahli on the left side of the area, but like Bruno in the first half, the Tunisian rolled his shot wide of the far post.
Hysaj was involved again a minute later. After winning another challenge at midfield, the central defender played a diagonal pass to Gioielli between the lines. The midfielder put a powerful strike on target, but Zacchi was well-positioned to make a rather comfortable save.
Sassuolo had two quality chances late in the match. In the 79th minute, Pieragnolo played a throw-in to Casolari, who immediately played a vertical pass to Bruno at the edge of the area. The midfielder squeezed a delicate through-ball to substitute Asan Mata in the area. The winger tested Boffelli, who did really well to kick away the low, hard shot.
The Neroverdi got the final chance of the match in the third minute of stoppage time, after winning a free kick on the left side of the midfield. Bruno crossed the ball into the area, where Salim Abubakar won the header. The midfielder directed his header towards the bottom corner but once again Boffelli was up to the task, stretching to push the shot away.
The match official blew the triple whistle moments later, as Napoli picked up an important point away from home. However, with Milan’s 0-3 victory over bottom-of-the-table Cesena, the Azzurrini dropped back into the relegation playoff zone, tied with Milan on 21 points.
