After a shaky start to their defense of their Serie A championship, Napoli were dealt another early season blow as they were held to a 2-2 draw away to Genoa, who are in the thick of the title race.
Mattia Bani and Mateo Retegui scored for Genoa, putting them in a position to put Napoli in danger of suffering a second consecutive loss in Serie A. Napoli was trailing Genoa by a score of 2-0 at the time, and it appeared as though they would not be able to avoid it. Giacomo Raspadori and Matteo Politano scored late goals, which were enough to salvage an unexpected tie for the reigning champions, who are coached by Rudi Garcia and who refused to give up.
It might have been much worse for Rudi Garcia’s Italian champions, who required astonishing late goals from second-half substitutes Giacomo Raspadori (76′) and Matteo Politano (84′) to recover a point against their dedicated hosts. Giacomo Raspadori scored in the 76th minute, and Matteo Politano scored in the 84th minute.
On Saturday night, with more than 33,000 people inside the bouncing Luigi Ferraris, it was the home team that moved ahead in a frenzied match when Mattia Bani headed the ball into the net from a Koni De Winter flick-on at the 40-minute mark.
In the 56th minute, Mateo Retegui scored the second goal by pouncing on a speculative pass into the penalty area that was made by Kevin Strootman. The away team was once again found deficient in defense.
Raspadori’s powerful drive and a magnificent Politano volley earned a draw for Napoli, allowing them to escape a second consecutive loss after suffering a 2-1 setback at home to Lazio before the international break. Napoli showed their mettle to avoid a second straight loss to avoid a second straight defeat.
When they open their campaign in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening at Portuguese side Braga, fifth-placed Napoli, who are already five points behind leaders Inter after only four matches in the league, will hope for a major improvement in their performance. Napoli are now five points behind Inter after only four matches.
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