Serie A | PLAYER RATINGS: Napoli 1-1 Roma

Napoli secured a 1-1 draw against Roma, with Mourinho’s men potentially splashing cold water on the Luciano Spalletti’s title ambition.

Napoli began their proceedings with a bang, drawing the first blood in the 11th minute of the first half. Roger Ibañez’s tackle on Hirving Lozano was ruled as a foul by VAR after the initial denial of a penalty shout from the on-field referee. Lorenzo Insigne put the ball past Rui Patrício to give the hosts a deserving lead.

The first half of the game was the summing-up of Nicolo Zaniolo’s darts against the Napoli defence and the same kinds of runs from Lozano against Roma’s stronghold. However, the second half became a much more physical affair.

Roma saw a couple of scoreable chances wasted by the likes of Tammy Abraham and Gianluca Mancini. Napoli also flared a few flashes on the attacking front themselves. But Stephan El Shaarawy had the last say on the result as he scored the equaliser after coming off the bench in the second half.

The draw may have ended Napoli’s race for this season’s Scudetto, with the Naples-based side now accumulating 69 points from 33 games. On the other hand, Roma remains at the fifth position with 58 points from 33 games. As things stand, Mourinho’s men are five points behind Juventus.

Napoli have taken another dent in their Scudetto race with the draw against Roma. They are now four points away from the top, with Fiorentina only two points behind Roma and have a game in hand.

— Get Italian Football News (@_GIFN) April 18, 2022

Napoli (4-3-3): Meret (6), Zanoli (6), Rrahmani (7.5), Koulibaly (8.5), Mário Rui (6.5), Anguissa (6.5), Lobotka (5.5), Fabián Ruiz (6), Lozano (8), Insigne (6.5), Osimhen (6)

Subs: Elmas (6), Demme (5.5), Zielinski (6), Juan Jesus (N/A), Dries Mertens (N/A)

Roma (3-4-2-1): Rui Patrício (6.5), Karsdorp (7), Mancini (6), Smalling (8), Ibañez (4.5), Cristante (5.5), Sérgio Oliveira (6), Zalewski (6.5), Pellegrini (7), Zaniolo (7.5), Abraham (5.5)

Subs: Mkhitaryan (6.5), El Shaarawy (7.5), Veretout (6), Felix Afena-Gyan (N/A), Carles Perez (N/A)

Jyotirmoy Halder