Napoli thwarted AS Roma’s attempt to regain top spot in the Serie A standings with a 1-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, with David Neres’ goal putting the defending champions level on points with AC Milan at the top.
Having already lost to both AC and Inter Milan this season, Roma fell short again against one of its main title rivals and was undone by a Napoli counter nine minutes before half-time.
“We were seriously out of balance in that situation,” Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini told DAZN.
“It was our mistake, the only time we really allowed that counter-attack, even in the second half when we were chasing the game.”
Back-to-back wins had put Roma clear at the summit, but in a crowded top six, Milan climbed to 28 points and claimed top spot by beating Lazio 1-0 on Saturday, with Napoli trailing the leaders on goal difference.
Roma are one point behind in fourth place, level with third-placed Inter Milan. Bologna, which hosts Cremonese on Monday, is three points further in fifth place, next to Como.
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A frantic end-to-end start followed with Napoli creating more danger early on.
A quick strike from the visitor brought Roma keeper Mile Svilar out of his area to elude Noa Lang before he scrambled back to stop Rasmus Hojlund’s follow-up attempt, and Giovanni Di Lorenzo smashed a shot into the side netting.
Lang then turned and weaved his way into the area, and his cross almost found Svilar, but the Roma keeper reached over with one hand to punch the ball away.
ROMA THREATENS
Roma finally started to threaten. Lorenzo Pellegrini’s withdrawal from the byline almost gave Evan Ferguson a tap-in, but Amir Rrahmani got there first and cleared a corner.
Ferguson headed over another chance, and just as Roma looked to gain the upper hand, Napoli quickly broke through and took the lead.
Hojlund sent Neres through one-on-one with Svilar, and he coolly tapped the ball over the onrushing keeper to score his third goal in two Serie A games.
«I asked the boys to look the opponent straight in the eye from the start, and they did that,» Napoli boss Antonio Conte told DAZN.
Napoli controlled the tempo after the break, never putting too many men forward and Roma struggled to make a move towards an equalizer, with the visitor always posing a threat on the counter.
Roma sent on Paulo Dybala and Neil El Aynaoui just after the hour, having already replaced Ferguson with Tommaso Baldanzi at half-time, but the hosts only gave the Napoli keeper trouble in the 90th minute.
Baldanzi forced Vanja Milinkovic-Savic into a late save but it was too little too late for Roma, and Napoli secured back-to-back victories in a title race with little margin for error.
“The boys are showing enthusiasm, desire and determination,” Conte added.
“We can’t lose this because last year it led us to the Scudetto.”
Published on December 1, 2025
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