Napoli scored an early penalty through Lorenzo Insigne and tried to saw out the remaining 80 minutes but were caught late on by an equalising goal from Stephan El Shaarawy.
Napoli
Meret: Untroubled for the entire opening 45 minutes as Roma failed to create anything of note. Made a brilliant challenge to deny Zaniolo late in the game but could do nothing on the Napoli equaliser. 6.0/10
Zanoli: Impressive play yet again from the youngster who looked brimming with confidence in attack and defence. Picked up a deserved yellow card in the second half for a high tackle on Oliveira. 6.0/10
Rrahmani: Quietly went about his business but looked a little rusty at times. 6.0/10
Koulibaly: Superb defending on Zaniolo for much of the opening half and perhaps a little harshly booked for his ‘foul’ on Zalewski. Made a perfectly timed tackle on Abraham to deny him a clear chance. 7.0/10
Mario Rui: Brilliant run and cross to create a clear chance for a Napoli second goal on the 20′ minute mark. Denied Pellegrini what looked a clear chance in the box. 6.5/10
Aguissa: Started as he meant to go on with some solid work in midfield and some well placed crosses to release the attack. 6.5/10
Lobotka: Started very positively, good in the tackle and played a great ball over the top for Lozano who went on to win a penalty. Unfortunately injured early in the second half. 6.5/10
Fabian: Quiet to begin with and played some nice passes hear and there for his teammates. Still not decisive enough with his final ball. 6.0/10
Lozano: Made some decent early runs and won the penalty for Napoli after just 10 minutes and continued to get in behind the Roma back line in the second half. Had the better of Ibanez but lost his discipline and picked up a booking for a silly moment of aggression 7.0/10
Osimhen: Proved a handful for the Roma backline and linked up well with his teammates. Lacked any clear chances until the 80th minute when he made a great solo run and fired wide of the near post. 6.5/10
Insigne: Took the opening penalty with supreme calm and made some excellent runs into the box throughout the match. Picked up a silly booking for speaking out of turn to the referee. 7.0/10
Substitutions:
Zielinski: Had a great chance on the 70 minute mark that he fired just wide of the far post before firing another effort straight at Rui Patricio. 5.5/10
Elmas: Had a half chance from distance that he put wide of the Roma goal when he could have taken an extra touch. 5.5/10
Demme: Added fresh legs to the midfield but little else. N/A
Juan Jesus: Came on late in the game to shore up the defence. N/A
Mertens: On late for Insigne to keep the attack fresh. N/A
Roma
Rui Patricio: Guessed the right way on the Napoli penalty but couldn’t reach it. His defence helped nullify the Napoli threat for much of the second half. 6.0/10
Mancini: Had a tough evening of it against Insigne and Osimhen but held his own for much of the game. Had a glorious chance from Pellegrini’s free-kick which he glanced just wide 6.5/10
Smalling: Read the game really well at times and cut out some half chances for Napoli while keeping Osimhen well shackled. 6.5/10
Ibanez: Poor, rash tackle on Lozano to gift Napoli the opening penalty and seemed to struggle against him for much of the first half. 5.5/10
Karsdorp: Very quiet down the Roma right but popped up with an excellent ball across the box near the end of the opening half. 5.5/10
Sergio Oliveira: Somewhat quiet bar a brief flurry at the end of the first half. 5.0/10
Cristante: Quiet in the opening spell until he made a really poor tackle on Lobotka to get himself booked. 5.0/10
Zalewski: Very promising runs down the flank and carved a half-chance for the visitors. Continued to be one of the more threatening players for Roma throughout the game. 6.5/10
Pellegrini: Wonderful free-kick in the opening half that was deflected onto the crossbar. Made some brilliant runs and his set-piece delivery was spot on. 6.5/10
Zaniolo: Started with typical energy and invention, switching from flank to flank and probably should have done better on the break when he was 1v2. Unfortunately injured late on. 6.5/10
Abraham: His work rate can’t be faulted but he was lacking up front in the first 45′, capped off by a poor attempt to win a penalty. Had a brilliant chance to net an equaliser but completely fluffed his lines from 4 yards out. Set up El Shaarawy with a brilliant backheel for the late equaliser. 6.5/10
Substitutions:
Mkhitaryan: On for Cristante and made a decent impact, creating space in the middle. 6.0/10
El Shaarawy: Added late on to freshen up the attack and capitalised on a brilliant bit of play from Abraham to net the equaliser. 7.0/10
Veretout: Provided some running in the midfield. N/A
Perez: Came on for the closing 10 minutes to try and snatch something. N/A
Gyan: N/A
