With both teams taking part in the race for European qualification, Napoli and AS Roma shared the spoils in a thrilling contest at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.
The deadlock was broken in the 59th minute when Paulo Dybala scored a penalty for the visitors, scoring his first ever goal at the stadium and considered one of the game’s all-time best goals. Five minutes later, Mathias Olivera equalized for Napoli with a deflected shot, and Victor Osimhen turned the game in Napoli’s favor with a penalty in the 84th minute. But with two minutes to go, Tammy Abraham gave Roma a point.
The game
Napoli seemed to be the better team for a long time, from the start until about halfway through the second half. They created several good chances in the first 45 minutes, but Roma’s first threat came in the sixth minute when Lorenzo Pellegrini missed a header from close range.
On the other hand, just a minute later, Osimhen was stopped by Evan Ndicka in a promising situation in the penalty area. In the 20th minute, Matteo Politano created a nice opportunity for Giovanni Di Lorenzo, but Mile Svilar in the Roma goal reacted well. Ten minutes later, Osimhen had another chance when he evaded Ndicka on the right, entered the penalty area and fired from a tight angle, forcing another good save from Svilar.
Frank Zambo Anguissa had the best chance of the half for Napoli in the 36th minute. Osimhen won a header in the middle of the park, leaving the midfielder free behind the Roma defense, but as Svilar burst out to tighten the angle, Anguissa embarrassed himself by firing the ball wide of the goal.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had some luck two minutes later when his shot from distance took a deflection and tricked Svilar, only to miss the goal. The Georgian winger tried again shortly afterwards, this time aiming into the far top corner, but Svilar parried with a great flying save. In the last minute before half-time, Kvaratskhelia sent a dangerous cross into the penalty area, but several Napoli players failed to make contact and it was a goal kick.
It took until the 57th minute for the first notable moment of the second half to occur. Politano once again showed creativity on the right wing, this time using Stanislav Lobotka. Svilar managed to easily deflect Lobotka’s shot and Gianluca Mancini made sure Kvaratskhelia didn’t intercept it at the far post.
Roma looked rather pale in this period of the game, but just a minute after Lobotka’s chance, they suddenly took the lead against the run of play. A long pass into the box was deflected by Rasmus Kristensen and Sardar Azmoun finished ahead of former Roma defender Juan Jesus, who reacted late and caught the Giallorossi striker on the foot. Referee Simone Sozza blew his whistle and immediately pointed to the penalty spot, and a quick VAR check confirmed his decision. Dybala stepped up and fired past Alex Meret in the Napoli goal to give Daniele De Rossi’s side the lead, leaving the home side deeply regretting their missed chances.
However, Roma’s lead only lasted five minutes as Olivera won the ball high up the pitch, entered the penalty area and fired a shot. Kristensen tried to block the ball, causing the ball to loop and fly over Svilar and into the net.
Osimhen came close again in the 65th minute, missing the target by just centimeters with a well-struck header. Two minutes later, Roma created a good starting position for Pellegrini to try his luck again, but Meret was outstanding and parried the visitors’ captain.
Four minutes later, De Rossi made a double substitution that would have a significant impact on the rest of the game. Renato Sanches replaced Edoardo Bove in the middle of the park and Azmoun made way for Abraham up front.
But before the changes were reflected in the game, Napoli came close a few more times. Cyril Ngonge, who had come on as a substitute for Politano, narrowly missed the goal from distance and Kvaratskhelia failed to keep out an excellent cross from Osimhen from a very dangerous position, which was thwarted by Kristensen. Finally, after being shot into space by Ngonge, Osimhen Mancini escaped and shot wildly, giving Svilar another chance to show his quality between the posts.
And then Sanches, locked in a duel with Kvaratskhelia on the edge of Roma’s penalty area, most unwisely stuck out his foot and caught the Napoli winger on the ankle. The referee initially waved for the game to continue, but then a call came from the VAR room, sending it to the pitchside screen. After seeing the footage, Sozza changed his decision and awarded a penalty to Napoli, which Osimhen converted.
With just six minutes left to play when Osmimhen gave Napoli the lead, Roma had no time to waste and stormed forward. Minute 88 had just begun when Dybala’s long-range shot deflected and went towards the corner. The Argentine took the ball into his own hands and Ndicka passed the ball on for Abraham to head in from close range at the far post. The linesman’s flag was raised for offside, which briefly gave Napoli hope of winning the game, but another VAR intervention decided otherwise and the goal stood.
Svilar’s decisions
Despite being beaten twice, the Roma goalkeeper was certainly the best player in the game. With no fewer than seven saves, most of which were quite difficult, he clearly showed why he remains ahead of Portuguese international Rui Patricio between the posts.
Interestingly, the 24-year-old goalkeeper does not currently play for any national team, despite having both Belgian and Serbian citizenship. Antwerp-born Svilar, who represented Belgium at all youth levels, decided to play for Serbia as a senior international and was between the posts for the Balkan country in a friendly against Qatar in 2021. And then all of a sudden he changed his tune. The decision to represent Belgium was annulled by FIFA as they did not allow him to change the national jersey for the second time.
It remains to be seen whether Svilar will agree to play for Serbia again or whether Serbia head coach Dragan Stojkovic will call him up even if he does. There is very little time left until the start of Euro 2024 and therefore little chance for him to appear at the tournament, but he could be of great use to Serbia in the future if he chooses such a course.
The consequences
The lack of victory at the Maradona Stadium meant Roma, in fifth place, were unable to take advantage of Bologna’s draw with Udinese to reduce the four-point gap to fourth place. But with Italy set to have another place in the Champions League next season, the Gialorossi will play in UEFA’s elite club competition in 2024/25, even if they remain in fifth place.
As for Napoli, the former Serie A champions have fallen from eighth to ninth place, with Fiorentina overtaking them after beating relegation candidates Sassuolo. The two teams have 50 points each, but the Viola have the better goal difference.
Clearly nothing has been resolved for either Napoli or Roma, and while Napoli travel to Udinese next week, Roma face the difficult task of hosting third-placed Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico.