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01/14 15:55 CST Napoli's title hopes in Serie A take a hit with a 0-0 draw
against Parma, Inter beats Lecce 1-0
Napoli's title hopes in Serie A take a hit with a 0-0 draw against Parma, Inter
beats Lecce 1-0
By DANIELLA MATAR
AP Sports Writer
MILAN (AP) --- A frustrating evening for Napoli saw it held to a 0-0 draw at
home by lowly Parma as the defending champion lost more ground in the title
race Wednesday.
The result saw third-placed Napoli slip six points behind Serie A leader Inter
Milan, which ground out a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Lecce.
Inter could see its lead cut back to three points if AC Milan wins at Como on
Thursday.
Parma, which had lost only one of its past four matches, continued to climb
away from danger --- moving to eight points above the relegation zone.
Napoli had drawn its past two matches 2-2, including Sunday's title showdown
against Inter Milan --- allowing it to be caught in third place by Roma and
Juventus.
Antonio Conte had been sent off at San Siro and began his two-match touchline
ban on Wednesday.
Napoli thought it had taken an early lead against Parma but Scott McTominay's
strike was ruled out on video review as teammate Pasquale Mazzocchi was
fractionally offside in the build-up.
Parma goalkeeper Filippo Rinaldi was making his senior debut and he pulled off
a sensational save in the 27th minute to parry a bullet header from Alessandro
Buongiorno at point-blank range.
Rinaldi made a number of other saves as a resolute Parma defense managed to
fend off a fierce Napoli assault.
The 23-year-old Rinaldi was named player of the match.
One of the few positive notes for Napoli was the appearance of David Neres as a
second-half substitute after he missed the past couple of matches with an ankle
sprain. However, the Brazilian was clearly not fully fit and was taken off
shortly before fulltime.
Narrow win It was far from pretty at times but Inter took what could prove to be significant step toward the scudetto. Substitute Pio Esposito scored the only goal of a mediocre match in the 78th minute. A ball was floated into the box and Esposito flicked it on for Lautaro Martnez --- who had initially been rested but was brought on late with Inter badly needing firepower. Lautaro's shot was parried but Esposito smashed home the rebound. The 20-year-old celebrated by showing off his muscles. Lecce remained just three points above the drop zone. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Narrow win It was far from pretty at times but Inter took what could prove to be significant step toward the scudetto. Substitute Pio Esposito scored the only goal of a mediocre match in the 78th minute. A ball was floated into the box and Esposito flicked it on for Lautaro Martnez --- who had initially been rested but was brought on late with Inter badly needing firepower. Lautaro's shot was parried but Esposito smashed home the rebound. The 20-year-old celebrated by showing off his muscles. Lecce remained just three points above the drop zone. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
