Despite dominating proceedings and forcing Torino to defend for much of the match, Napoli had to settle for a disappointing 0-0 draw at the Stadio San Paolo on Sunday.
The result may just signal an end to the Partenopei’s Scudetto hopes, as they now sit a sizeable 13 points back of league leaders Juventus – who cruised past Frosinone on Friday.
Lorenzo Insigne looked lively and was cruelly denied by the post, while Arkadiusz Milik will rue his poor finishing in the first half. Torino managed to hold on despite rarely testing the Azzurri goal, and the point means they now sit joint-eighth with Fiorentina on 35 points.
Napoli started strong and forced Salvatore Sirigu into action via a Jose Callejon back-flick that was parried, while Milik failed to connect on a cross from close range.
The Polish striker found himself with another chance minutes later, but he fired straight at Sirigu. Lorenzo Insigne had arguably the best chance of the half when he found space down the left, but once again the Torino goalkeeper stood strong and deflected the ball out with his leg.
It should have been 1-0 after 33 minutes when Fabian Ruiz played a low cross into the box for Milik, but his faint touch only directed the ball wide of the goal.
Despite Napoli’s dominance the match somehow remained 0-0 heading into half-time, but not before Tomas Rincon and Lorenzo Insigne picked up bookings and bans for a clash before the break.
Sirigu kept Ruiz’s low drive out of the bottom corner after the restart, while Napoli wasted a glorious counter as play developed slowly, forcing into Milik into a shot from distance that was beaten away.
Insigne fired a glorious right-footed curler that looked destined for the back of the net, but the post had other plans, keeping the score at 0-0.
Dries Mertens came off the bench and fired a late free-kick just wide of the mark in the closing stages as the match petered out to a goalless draw, much to the chagrin of the disappointed home faithful.
Day to forget for Milik
The Polish striker had several chances to break the deadlock in the first half, but he missed them all – the most agonizing of which came from inside the six-yard box.
More was expected from Milik given his form this season, and his bad day at the office may just signal the end of Napoli’s Scudetto dreams.
Timid Torino
Thanks to Sunday’s 0-0 draw, the Granata have now lost just one of their 13 away matches this season. It would be more impressive if they hadn’t collected 10 draws during that run, but it’s unsurprising given Walter Mazzarri’s approach against Napoli.
Torino never looked interested in threatening the Napoli goal, and you got the feeling they wouldn’t have pushed for a winner even if they had played another 90 minutes.
