In a heart-stopping finale at the Maradona stadium, Antonio Conte's Napoli beat Parma 2-1 thanks to a flash of brilliance from Romelu Lukaku and the decisive goal from André-Frank Zambo Anguissa. The match, valid for the third day of the Serie A championship, seemed to be going from bad to worse for the Neapolitans, who found themselves behind after the penalty converted by Bonny in the first half.
The race was complicated for the Napoli, who struggled to find space against a well-organized Parma. The Emilians, after taking the lead from the penalty spot halfway through the first half, closed up in defense, while the home team desperately sought an equalizer.
The turning point came in the second half when Parma goalkeeper Suzuki was sent off. The visitors had already used up their substitutions, forcing defender Delprato to don his gloves and defend the posts in the final tense minutes.
Conte responded by bringing on Lukaku, and the Belgian centre-forward did not disappoint expectations: he burst onto the pitch like a fury and scored the equaliser, taking advantage of the absence of a full-time goalkeeper. Napoli continued to push and, during the eleven minutes of injury time, Anguissa headed in the net to make it 2-1.
Meret put the final seal on the victory with a very important save on Almqvist shortly after, giving the fans a hard-fought but very precious victory.
Article published on 31 August 2024 - 23:05
