Nosa Obaretin scored his third goal of the season, while Landry Boni and Leonardo Rossi both hit the frame of the goal en route to Napoli’s second consecutive victory.
Lineup
Nicolò Frustalupi made one change to the squad he fielded in the victory over Cagliari. Nosa Obaretin returned from suspension to start over Luigi D’Avino in the back three.
(3-4-2-1) Boffelli; Hysaj, Barba, Obaretin; Acampa, Gioielli, Alastuey, Marchisano; Sahli, Spavone; Pesce
Match
Napoli burst out of the gates, opening the scoring only six minutes into the match. The play started with Francesco Gioielli making a marauding run forward on the left wing, before playing a diagonal pass to Bilel Sahli at the edge of the Bologna area. Sahli squared to Alessandro Spavone, whose shot was deflected out for a corner kick. Jorge Alastuey played the corner short to Matteo Marchisano to improve the angle for the cross into the area. Nosa Obaretin rose up to win the header over goalkeeper Davide Franzini to score his third goal of the season.
The match was rather subdued for a long stretch after the goal, contested predominantly in the midfield. Neither side created a legitimate opportunity to score until five minutes before the break, when Jafar Bynoe played a vertical pass to Kacper Urbanksi. The Polish playmaker made a lovely turn at midfield before playing a perfectly-weighted through ball to Antonio Raimondo in the area. The striker appeared to be clear on goal but Valerio Boffelli was quick off his line and slid to stop the shot with his feet. The rebound fell ominously in front of the goal but Benedetto Barba followed up the play and cleared the danger.
The second half started slowly but picked up in intensity as Bologna became more desperate for an equalizer. Napoli created the first big chance in the 56th minute. After a patient buildup, Alastuey played the ball out wide to Davide Acampa before making a run into the area. Acampa picked out the Spaniard in front of the goal but he felt the presence of Tommaso Corazzo lurking and flicked his header wide of the mark.
Bologna had their chances as well but their finishing was poor. Just past the hour mark substitute Gennaro Anatriello went for goal from distance after the official played an advantage, but the shot was straight at Boffelli. Moments later, Urbanski attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick in the area but he didn’t make good contact and Boffelli made the easy catch.
Then, in the 75th minute, Urbanksi was fouled by substitute Simone Bonavita in a dangerous area. The free kick was taken short to midfielder Mattia Motolese, who struck the ball with power but once again, the shot was straight at Boffelli.
Five minutes prior, play had to be stopped after a scary incident involving Urbanski and Alastuey. The Bologna midfielder inadvertently caught the Spaniard in the face with a high boot. Alastuey attempted to carry on after receiving medical attention but was forced to exit the match shortly thereafter.
While Bologna might have had the greater quantity of chances, the Azzurri generated the higher quality chances. In the 82nd minute, Daniel Hysaj played a ball over the top to Spavone. The attacking midfielder took the ball down well before making a clever turn at the edge of the area. He then rolled the ball towards the second post. Substitute Cedrick Koffi got to the ball first but Franzini closed the angle and made the save.
Frustalupi took the opportunity to make a change, replacing Spavone with Landry Boni before the corner kick was taken. Bonavita played an in-swinging towards the near post. Bologna cleared the ball but only so far as Boni at the edge of the area. With his first touch, the substitute smashed the ball off the bar and out.
Bologna had two final chances in the dying minutes of the match. In the 90th minute, Barba played a poor clearance straight to Kévin Mercier. He squared the ball to Bynoe, who laid it off to Raimondo. The striker put a powerful shot on target but Boffelli was well-positioned to make the save. Moments later Montolese got the other end of an in-swinging cross from the right wing but his header hardly tested Boffelli.
Napoli had the final chance of the match after Gioielli carried the ball through the middle of the park. The central midfielder passed the ball off to substitute Leonardo Rossi on his left. The striker cut in to his right and curled a shot off the upright and out.
Despite hitting the frame of the goal twice, Napoli held on for a deserved 1-0 victory. With Atalanta’s 2-3 victory over Cesena and Milan’s 2-1 defeat to Empoli, all three clubs are now level on 27 points. Meanwhile, Cagliari lost to Lecce, so only two points separate the five teams competing to avoid the relegation playoff.
