Off the back of eight consecutive victories to start the Serie A season, Napoli lost their first points of the season in a 0-0 draw with second-placed Inter on Saturday evening at the Stadio San Paolo.
Samir Handanovic’s exploits in goal helped keep the score at 0-0 after 45 minutes, with Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne unable to capitalise on significant goalscoring opportunities.
Matias Vecino went close early in the second half before the Partenopei applied continued pressure to their opposition’s goal for the majority of the final 30 minutes. However the match would eventually end with neither side able to break the deadlock, both remaining undefeated in the Serie A.
It was no surprise to see the Azzurri dominating on the ball early as Lorenzo Insigne and Faouzi Ghoulam tested the Nerazzurri’s right-side defence.
Luciano Spalletti’s men remained patient and looked to hit their high-pressing opposition on the counter attack, Borja Valero creating the first of their chances.
However, it was the home side who continued to control the match and they went agonisingly close to an opener on 20 minutes, denied only by heroic back-to-back saves from Handanovic. Jose Callejon’s attempt required a near post save before the Slovenien keeper blocked Mertens’ point-blank shot.
Handanovic wow…. wonderful double save #NapoliInter pic.twitter.com/WdFJYRjeX2
— Scot Munroe (@scot_munroe) October 21, 2017
After the half hour mark, Napoli captain Marek Hamsik looked to take things into his own hands by producing a brilliant ball over Inter’s defence to find the head of Insigne, who disappointingly directed the ball straight at Handanovic.
Though it was the away side that had the last significant chance of the half when Ivan Perisic’s header caught out the Azzurri’s defence and found Borja Valero in space, who drilled the ball towards the top of the goalmouth, requiring a reflex save from Pepe Reina.
Following the half-time break, Matias Vecino almost shocked the home crowd with an incredible solo run, combining well with Mauro Icardi before drawing Reina and shooting, only to see the ball cleared in front of the goalmouth by Raul Albiol.
Four early fouls slowed any momentum from either team, with a Hamsik shot wide of the post the only other significant opportunity as the game moved into the final 30 minutes.
In the 67th minute, the Partenopei strung a number of passes together around the penalty area, with the ball eventually falling for Insigne who had his shot crucially blocked by Danilo D’Ambrosio just outside the six-yard box.
Not long after, it was Napoli’s No.24 once again who found the ball in space, with his curling effort sailing just wide of both Handanovic’s outstretched hands and the post.
As Inter looked content to defend a draw, the Neapolitans continued to press forward with most opportunities falling to the home side.
Piotr Zielinski arrived on the pitch and almost found the back of the net in spectacular fashion, with his long-range strike requiring another Handanovic save.
Adam Ounas had a penalty appeal waved away before Mertens found himself behind the Inter defence in the final minutes, with the Nerazzurri’s No.1 once again coming to the rescue.
After three minutes of injury time, the referee blew an end to match, with both sides taking one point away and remaining undefeated in the Serie A.
