Napoli drop first points of season

SERIE A leaders Napoli were foiled by Inter Milan goalkeeper Samir Handanovic as they drew 0-0 in their top-of-the-table clash yesterday and dropped their first two points of the season.

Napoli, who had won their opening eight league games, could find no way past the Slovenian as both teams remained unbeaten, with the hosts on 25 points and Inter on 23.

It was the first time since a 2-0 home defeat by Atalanta in February that Napoli had failed to score in a league match and their first failure to win one since a 2-2 draw at Sassuolo in April – a club record 13 games.

Maurizio Sarri’s side played their usual flowing football in midfield but Inter’s defence held firm as coach Luciano Spalletti’s cautious approach paid off.

“We played really well today and we could have done even better,” said Spalletti. “People will continue to say that we’re lucky but my real good fortune is to be able to coach these players.”

“Napoli do incredible things with the ball, they move it around at a whirlwind speed, and it’s not easy to challenge them,” he added.

Handanovic made a superb double save to parry a Jose Callejon shot and then block Dries Mertens’ effort from the rebound and also frustrated Lorenzo Insigne when he was given a free header by Marek Hamsik’s diagonal pass.

Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina made two saves just before halftime when he blocked Mauro Icardi’s shot at the near post and punched Borja Valero’s volley over the crossbar.

Matias Vecino nearly gave Inter the lead early in the second half after running half the length of the pitch and exchanging passes with Icardi but his chip from a narrow angle was cleared off the line by Raul Albiol.

The final 20 minutes were nearly all Napoli as Insigne sent a shot flashing past the post, then Handanovic stopped Piotr Zielinski’s drive and prevented team mate Miranda from scoring an own goal with a reflex save from point-blank range. – Reuters