November 07, (THEWILL) –Â Napoli, the Italian League leaders, were held to a 1-1 draw by nine-man Hellas Verona at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in Serie A on Sunday.
Verona surged through to a quick lead as Antonin Barak evaded Mario Rui and dribbled into the area, where Giovanni Simeone finished easily from close range. However, Napoli quickly equalised when Giovanni Di Lorenzo blasted in from a tight angle after meeting Fabian Ruiz’s low freekick cross.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen struck the woodwork on the stroke of halftime as he attempted to take his team into the interval on the ascendancy.
Early in the second half, Lorenzo Insigne came close with a long-range freekick, while Barak squandered a great chance as space opened up in the area.
Despite a flurry of late red cards against Verona, Napoli were unable to break through, with replacement Daniel Bessa receiving a second yellow for a tackle on Elif Elmas, and Dries Mertens firing the ensuing freekick against the post.
When Nikola Kalinic drew a second yellow for an elbow in stoppage time, the visitors were reduced to nine men, but they held out tenaciously for a draw in Naples.
Two dropped points mean that although Luciano Spalletti’s side remains top of the League on 32 points, AC Milan have the opportunity to seize control of the table if they triumph over Inter in the Milan derby later on Sunday.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
