BOLOGNA, Italy :Napoli missed the chance to narrow the gap at the top of Serie A after a 1-1 draw at Bologna on Monday as Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s first-half goal was cancelled out by a moment of magic from the hosts’ Dan Ndoye.
With leaders Inter Milan only managing a draw at Parma on Saturday, Napoli had a chance to close on them, but they remained second with 65 points, three behind. Bologna are fourth on 57 points, just a single point behind Atalanta.
Napoli struck after 18 minutes when Zambo Anguissa seized a loose ball on the halfway line, burst past the Bologna defence and calmly rounded goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski to slot the ball into the net.
The injured Skorupski was replaced by Federico Ravaglia, who seized the opportunity to make several good saves to keep Bologna in the game.
The moment of the match came four minutes after the hour mark when Bologna’s Ndoye received a pass inside the box and executed a brilliant back-heel flick that hit the underside of the bar before bouncing over the line.
Napoli’s reserve keeper Simone Scuffet, called into the side shortly before kickoff after Alex Meret was taken ill, made a crucial diving save in stoppage time to deny Bologna’s Emil Holm.
Assistant manager Cristian Stellini, taking charge of the side while Antonio Conte served a touchline ban, admitted Napoli struggled in the second half.
“It was a very good first half, we had prepared an aggressive approach with a lot of movement and intensity, which we did very well,” he told DAZN.
“After the break, we certainly lacked something, perhaps we focused more on defending than attacking, so when you lose the momentum in this atmosphere against a team in Bologna’s form, it is a struggle to get that back.”
For Bologna, the match was also a disappointment as a win would have seen them leapfrog Atalanta into third.
“We’ll take the point and that fantastic performance from the players,” their manager Vincenzo Italiano said.
“A draw against one of the best teams in Serie A is still very good, a team where you can risk on the counter-attack, but at the end of the day we keep the run of positive results going, but also build on the quality of our performances.”
