Napoli earned their place in the last 32 of the Europa League after a comfortable goalless draw in Prague on Thursday evening.
Neither side were able to break the deadlock, though the home side saw two effort cannon off the woodwork.
Napoli looked to control possession from the off, working the ball to Jose Callejon on the right side, but saw the hosts claim the first chance of the night when Kalidou Koulibaly’s miscontrol allowed Borek Dockal to break into the area. The former Rosenborg striker’s snapshot was palmed to safety by Rafael.
The Partenopei continued to focus their attacks on Callejon but the Czech side produced the best moment of the match so far when Josef Husbauer’s dipping volley struck the crossbar from 20 yards and fell straight to captain David Lafate, who saw his header miraculously clawed away from the goal by Rafael.
The first half continued with neither side able to assert themselves on the match; Benitez’s side looked more assured in possession, but Sparta carried more of a threat, which produced another goal-line clearance, after Raul Albiol deflected a cross into the path of Ladislav Krejci, and though the winger managed to get his shot past Rafael, only to see Albiol rise out of the crowd and head it clear.
The home side kept the pressure on for the rest of the opening period, winning a series of corners as they pushed Napoli backwards, but never quite managing to find the final touch that would have given them the lead.
The Partenopei emerged from the dressing room and attacked their hosts with more vigour than before the break, with Callejon again influential. Marek Matejovsky gained an early booking for bringing down the Spaniard.
Benitez’s side continued to hunt for a goal as the former Liverpool coach replaced the ineffective Gonzalo Higuain with Duvan Zapata midway through the second half. The change had little effect on the pattern of the game, though the Colombian was able to use his strength to buffet the home side’s tiring defence.
The best chances were still being created by the home side, who had a flurry of opportunities with a little over a quarter of an hour remaining. Substitute Tomas Prikryl was put through on goal, and earned his side a corner which, after Coulibaly had cleared initially, was returned with interest by Matejovsky. The ball flicked off Mesto and crashed against the crossbar and fell straight to Costa Nhamoinesu but his hurried header went straight into the arms of Rafael.
Napoli were awakened by that scare, and began to pour forwards in number as the game moved into its last ten minutes as the brace of substitues, Zapata and Faouzi Ghoulam came to the fore. The best attempts continued to come from corners that Raul Albiol was able to flick on, but his teammates were unable to complete the job.
Meanwhile, Jose Callejon continued to impress, his tricky run late on creating a chance for Marek Hamsik but the Slovakian could only sky his effort way over the bar. Hamsik was involved again as the contest wound down, whipping a cross into Zapata only to see the Colombian flick his header wide of the far post. The Partenopei captain also drilled a last gasp shot into the side netting when others looked better placed to score.
That was the last action of a match that represented a functional performance for Benitez’s side who left the Czech Republic with a clean sheet, a point and qualification.
