Napoli pulled level with Lazio in their Serie A meeting at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, after an own goal from Pedraza cancelled out Davide Frattesi's first-half opener. The visitors had gone in ahead at the interval, but the home side equalised three minutes into a spell of sustained pressure early in the second half.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the leveller came from an insistent move involving De Bruyne and McTominay, with Lang receiving on the left and delivering a cross. Pedraza, attempting to get to the ball ahead of Hojlund and McTominay, turned it into his own net.
Why it matters
The result matters at both ends of the table. Lazio arrived top of the division, having won six league games in a row, and were chasing a sixth consecutive away victory of the season — a feat no side in Serie A history has achieved three times, after 2002/03 and 2017/18, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Napoli, by contrast, have been under heavy pressure, with Massimiliano Allegri's position under scrutiny after a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Porto on Wednesday — their fourth loss in seven matches across all competitions.
Frattesi strikes on the counter
Lazio's goal came from a rapid break, with Frattesi finishing with his left foot from a fine Noslin assist. The match had been lively from the start: Frattesi had earlier shot poorly with his left from the middle of the box, and De Bruyne had played Hojlund through only for Sutalo to recover.
Napoli pushed their line higher but struggled to find openings in the attacking third, with Lang's right-footed effort from the edge of the area blocked. Lang was central to much of Napoli's threat — La Gazzetta dello Sport describes him as his side's best player but also overly agitated, picking up a yellow card for a foul on Taylor shortly after gesturing towards the Curva that he could not hear. A low, dangerous Lang strike was pushed away by Mandas, and Lazio broke immediately, with Marin getting ahead of Pinamonti on Noslin's low cross.
Lang then broke down the left and Hojlund only needed to tap in on the goal line, but Mandas's reflex kept it out. Hojlund later turned in a Lang assist only to be flagged offside by a fraction.
Injuries and a reshuffled Lazio
Gattuso's afternoon was complicated by injuries. Sutalo pulled up with a hamstring problem while chasing Hojlund and was replaced, with Leite warming up. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Tavares was not substituted only to avoid using another slot. Vergara struggled at full-back, with Noslin repeatedly getting past him without managing to finish.
Napoli's equaliser arrived through the combination of De Bruyne, McTominay and Lang, and McTominay then forced Mandas into a save with a right-footed shot inside the area. De Bruyne also threatened, with a ball cleared off the line, while Hojlund shot from the edge of the six-yard box and the rebound fell to Olivera, who fired over. Hojlund also had an effort from outside the area after intercepting a loose Frattesi pass in midfield.
The teams lined up in matching 4-3-3 formations. Lazio, coached by Gattuso, started Mandas in goal behind Floriani, Sutalo, Provstgaard and Nuno Tavares, with Frattesi, Belahyane and Taylor in midfield and Isaksen, Pinamonti and Noslin up front. Allegri's Napoli began with Milinkovic-Savic; Beukema, Rrahmani, Marin and Olivera; De Bruyne, Gilmour and McTominay; and Vergara, Hojlund and Lang.
Luca Pairetto was appointed referee, with Marinelli as fourth official and Aureliano in the VAR room, assisted by Mazzoleni as assistant VAR.
History and the stakes
The fixture has a deep history in Naples. La Gazzetta dello Sport notes 82 previous official meetings between the clubs in the city: 39 Napoli wins, 23 draws and 20 Lazio victories. The most famous came on 29 April 1990, when Napoli mathematically secured their second league title by beating Lazio 1-0 at Fuorigrotta through a Marco Baroni goal.
More recently the balance has favoured the visitors. Lazio had won four straight games in Naples, with Napoli scoring just once across those matches — through Zielinski on 2 September 2023 in a 1-2 defeat. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Napoli had gone 238 minutes without a home goal against the Biancocelesti.
Lazio's form this season has been built on a defence that has conceded eight goals, fewer than any other side in the division, and a perfect away record of five wins from five before Sunday. Napoli, meanwhile, were looking to avoid a fifth defeat in their first 11 league games, a mark Allegri last reached in the 2000/01 campaign, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Next up, both sides will look to build on the point as the Serie A table tightens at the top, with Lazio's unbeaten away run and Napoli's recovery under Allegri the two storylines to watch.
