Napoli dropped points on the road for the first time this season after being held to a goalless draw at the Stadio Bentegodi by Chievo on Sunday afternoon.
The Azzurri dominated the possession, but a resilient Gialloblu frustrated the Partenopei who failed to muster much more than a couple of clear-cut chances throughout the match.
Napoli remain in first place in the Serie A standings with their unbeaten record still in tact, but now have Juventus breathing down their necks just a single point behind.
Chievo on the other hand ended a two-game losing streak and find themselves in 10th place ahead of Atalanta, who take on SPAL later on Sunday.
As expected, Napoli dominated possession right from the get-go as they set about piercing the Chievo defence with their trademark quick passing game.
The hosts however were not going to make it easy with their 4-3-1-2 set-up often turning into a 4-5-1, reducing Napoli to long range efforts in the opening stages of the contest.
Marek Hamsik – one short of reaching Diego Maradona’s 115 goals in the all-time Napoli scoring charts – had a vicious effort deflected out for a corner, while Piotr Zielinski tried his luck from distance but the Pole’s effort was far too central to trouble Stefano Sorrentino.
Napoli enjoyed all of the possession with Chievo aiming to hurt the Azzurri on the counter-attack and via dead-ball situations, and it was from a corner kick that the Gialloblu gave Napoli an early scare on 18 minutes.
Roberto Inglese – facing his parent club – flicked a good delivery from Valter Birsa into the path of Alessandro Gamberini, but the defender failed to keep the shot on target and it whistled over the bar.
Napoli soon set about reinstating their dominance on the game. Lorenzo Insigne sent Sorrentino into a flying save with a curling effort, and then moments later it was Hamsik’s turn to work the Chievo goalkeeper with an acrobatic effort.
The away support didn’t witness the kind of champagne football their team has accustomed them to this season, but there was a slick passing move through the middle sparked by Hamsik which Jose Callejon then dragged inches wide of the far post.
Tensions boiled over just after the half hour mark when Mario Rui went toe to toe with Ivan Radovanovic following a late challenge on Rui’s teammate Lorenzo Insigne.
The referee was quick to intervene though, booking both Rui and Radovanovic, and it proved to be the last noteworthy incident of the first half as the teams went into the break on level terms.
The pattern of the game continued in the same vein at the restart with Napoli dominating possession but lacking the cutting edge in the final third.
Chievo kept their shape well and almost took the lead on 60 minutes when Radovanovic tried his luck from the halfway line with an audacious effort but Luigi Sepe – deputising for the injured Pepe Reina – tipped it over the bar.
It was then Sorrentino’s turn to hog the limelight doing brilliantly to push over the bar a glancing header from Hamsik following a cross from Jorginho.
Zielinski then found himself in a good position on the edge of the area only to fire off target and it would prove to be the midfielder’s last contribution of the game before making way for Allan.
Even with a fresh set of legs on Napoli continued to struggle in their bid to break down a resilient Chievo rear-guard that had leaked eight goals in their past two Serie A outings.
In a last roll of the dice, Maurizio Sarri threw Adam Ounas into the fray for Callejon but it did not have the desired effect, and while Napoli laid siege to the Chievo goal in the closing stages they failed to find the breakthrough.
MATCH STATS
- This is the first time Napoli have gained 32 points from their first 12 Serie A games.
- Napoli are unbeaten in their last 24 Serie A games (W20, D4).
- Prior to today, in Serie A, when Napoli have had 9+ shots in a first half, they have always scored 2+ goals.
- Chievo had their first, and only, shot on target in the 60th minute.
- Jorginho had 163 touches: only himself has done better in this season in Serie A (179 vs Benevento).
- Napoli had 73.3% possession today, their record in a Serie A game this season.
