Napoli's title race slows: at the Maradona stadium, they draw 2-2 against Hellas Verona on matchday 19 of Serie A. The match gets off to an uphill start for the Italian champions, who concede a two-goal lead to the Venetians thanks to goals from Martin Frese and Gift Orban, the latter a penalty awarded after a VAR review.
The home side immediately attempted to respond: in the eighth minute, Elmas hit the near post, while in the 34th minute, Hojlund nearly scored with a header. In the 54th minute, McTominay reopened the match following a corner, galvanizing Napoli, who increased the pressure through Spinazzola, Marianucci, and Lucca. Several near-misses and two disallowed goals—Hojlund for a handball and McTominay for offside—made for a thrilling finale. In the 82nd minute, Giovanni Di Lorenzo scored the 2-2 with a right-footed shot from Marianucci's cross, giving the Azzurri a draw.
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Napoli looked to overtake in the closing stages but were threatened by Giovane's counterattack, who fired wide with a one-on-one with Milinkovic-Savic. This point leaves Napoli on 38th in the standings and puts Hellas Verona on edge, now sitting on 13 points and aiming for safety. On Sunday evening, the Campania side will face Inter at the Meazza, while Verona will host Lazio at the Bentegodi.
Changes and revisions to this article
- Article updated on 07/01/2026 at 19:38 PM - Title typo corrected
- Article updated on 07/01/2026 at 19:39 PM - Content structure updated
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Comments (6)
2 goals stolen
Napoli earned one point. Thank goodness.
I rejoiced watching Napoli equalize
Marcio Sport
And if it continues, it's your fault for paying and betting.
The rest is just bar talk.
If you want clean football, don't bet and don't give money to this sport.
Yes, but in my opinion, Napoli could have done more, especially in the first half when they didn't capitalize on their chances. They should have been more careful defensively to avoid conceding those goals.
The match was very hard-fought, and I'm sorry for Napoli, who dropped two points. However, Hellas Verona played well and deserved the draw. The goals were beautiful to watch.