Serie A | Parma 1-1 Napoli: McTominay can’t break curse
Scott McTominay managed to claw back a point for Napoli after Gabriel Strefezza put Parma in front within 33 seconds, but this result damages their Scudetto ambitions.
The Partenopei climbed into second place with a 1-0 victory over Milan and were seeking a sixth straight Serie A win. Rasmus Hojlund returned after a stomach bug, but David Neres, Antonio Vergara, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani and Romelu Lukaku were still out of action. The Ducali had just three draws in the last five rounds, and top scorer Mateo Pellegrino was suspended, with Benja Cremaschi and Matija Frigan also absent.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
It took an incredible 33 seconds to break the deadlock, as in his first start for the club, Nesta Elphege jumped to flick on the long Zion Suzuki ball, allowing Gabriel Strefezza to run into the box and bend the finish in off the far post with the inside of the right boot.
Despite pouring forward, Antonio Conte’s men struggled to create any genuine chances, as Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa nodded wide with a Hojlund foul in the build-up.
Instead, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic had to rush out into midfield to clear from Enrico Delprato.
On the stroke of half-time, Kevin De Bruyne’s corner was flicked on for Hojlund, finding Delprato ready to clear practically on the line.
Juan Jesus was struggling to deal with Strefezza, so he was replaced by Sam Beukema for the restart in the Napoli defence.
Matteo Politano blasted over from the edge of the area, while Alisson Santos came off the bench and fired so far wide that it went for a throw-in.
Napoli finally equalised with one of their first shots on target, as Stanislav Lobotka’s first-time through ball was laid off by Hojlund for McTominay to drill home from the edge of the area.
The visitors continued to pour forward, Suzuki right behind the Alisson Santos low drive, then Politano’s cross flashing all the way across the face of goal without a tap-in.
Suzuki was ready for the acrobatic McTominay overhead kick on a corner, but Parma also threatened with a ball flashed across the six-yard box and two players sliding in failing to connect.
Alisson Santos skimmed the near post from a tricky angle and there were Parma penalty appeals for handball, but Alessandro Buongiorno’s arm was in a natural position when Leonardo Spinazzola kicked it onto his teammate from point-blank range.
Milinkovic-Savic had to fingertip the Mandela Keita scorcher out from under the bar, while Eljif Elmas really should’ve done better with a free header over the bar from the Miguel Gutierrez cross.
Alisson Santos also stung Suzuki’s gloves in stoppages, but Parma have for the third game in a row held Napoli to a potentially costly stalemate in the Scudetto race.
Parma 1-1 Napoli
Strefezza 1 (P), McTominay 60 (N)
Player statistic
| Gabriel Strefezza (Assist: Nesta Elphege) |
1' |
| 60' |  |
Scott McTominay (Assist: Rasmus Højlund) | ||
| Alessandro Circati |  |
83' |
