Napoli 1-1 Roma: Substitute Stephan El Shaarawy scores late equaliser for Jose Mourinho’s side
Napoli 1-1 Roma: Substitute Stephan El Shaarawy scores late equaliser for Jose Mourinho’s side as Napoli’s title hopes suffer a blow despite Lorenzo Insigne’s penalty
- Stephan El Shaarawy scored a late equaliser as Roma drew 1-1 with Napoli
- Lorenzo Insigne had put Napoli in front with a penalty in the 11th minute
- Roma’s Daniel Fuzato was sent off despite being an unused substitute
- Napoli stay in third place, four points adrift of Serie A leaders AC Milan
- Jose Mourinho’s Roma, meanwhile, remain in fifth place in the table
Napoli’s Serie A title hopes suffered a huge blow as Stephan El Shaarawy’s last-gasp equaliser earned AS Roma a 1-1 draw at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Monday.
The hosts held the lead in a tense clash in Naples for the majority of the contest after captain Lorenzo Insigne broke the deadlock with a well-taken penalty after 11 minutes.
Chasing a first Scudetto since 1990, Napoli looked nervy as they went in search of three points that would have closed the gap on leaders AC Milan, with Roma having several chances to level in the second half.
Stephan El Shaarawy (R) celebrates after his late goal pulled Roma level against Napoli
El Shaarawy, who had entered the fray as a substitute, scored for Roma in stoppage time
Lorenzo Insigne celebrates his goal, which put Napoli in front in their clash against Roma
The home side looked like they had done enough to hold on as the clock passed 90 minutes, before substitute El Shaarawy broke Napoli hearts in stoppage time, firing a leveller that in-form Roma deserved.
The draw left Napoli third in the standings on 67 points from 33 matches, four points behind leaders AC Milan. Roma stayed fifth on 58 points having stretched their unbeaten run in Serie A to 12 matches.
Insigne slotted home from the penalty spot as Napoli took the lead in the early stages
Roma’s Sergio Oliveira competes for possession with Fabian Ruiz of Napol in the Serie A clash
Roma boss Jose Mourinho expresses his frustration at the penalty given to Napoli
Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti told DAZN after the match: ‘There is a bit of disappointment, the match was conducted well in some respects.
‘We were dealing with a strong team that in certain situations created some problems for us, but the biggest disappointment goes to the final part.
‘We all had fresh midfielders, we weren’t as good at managing the ball as I expected. We conceded goals from a tactical and development point of view that was highly avoidable.’
Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti criticised his team for conceding a ‘highly avoidable’ goal
Asked about goalscorer Lorenzo Insigne, who is departing at the end of the season, leaving the pitch in tears at the end, Spalletti added:
‘I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. The time to leave the team for which he has always played is approaching, they are special sensations.
‘You have to hear him, he played a good game. When it was time to take responsibility, he fully fulfilled the task.’
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