NAPLES, Italy - Napoli missed the chance to move six points clear atop Serie A after being held to a 1-1 draw at home against Udinese on Sunday, marking their second successive stalemate.
Despite the draw, Napoli remains at 55 points, four points clear of second-placed Inter Milan, who are set to host Fiorentina on Monday. Meanwhile, Udinese occupies 10th place with 30 points.
The match began with both teams creating chances to score, and it was Napoli's Scott McTominay who opened the scoring in the 37th minute. The Scottish midfielder delivered a pinpoint header from close range following a corner taken by Matteo Politano, marking his sixth league goal this season.
Just three minutes later, Udinese responded with Jurgen Ekkelenkamp equalizing with a stunning long-range effort. Ekkelenkamp’s swerving shot deceived Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret and found its way to the bottom corner of the net.
Meret spoke about the unfortunate goal, stating on DAZN, "I must say thetrajectory was very strange. It's a pity because we gave the ball away... Congratulations to Jurgen because he scored a great goal." He added, “We don’t think about Inter, we think match by match as always. Today was important. We didn’t get the three points but the path is good, and we have to look for victory against Lazio.”
The second half saw Udinese dominate with several opportunities to take the lead. Sandi Lovric almost put Udinese up with a powerful effort from outside the area, but Meret was there to make the save. Lorenzo Lucca also came close, with his right-footed shot blocked following a pass from Jesper Karlstrom.
Despite the pressure, Napoli struggled to create significant chances as their forwards Romelu Lukaku and David Neres failed to find the net. The match went on, and even as time wound down, Napoli could not break through Udinese's defense.
Udinese's coach Kosta Runjaic expressed his satisfaction with the outcome, stating, "I'm very happy for this point and for the boys. We suffered but to play well against Napoli means they did their best."
The draw leaves Napoli needing to focus on their next fixture against Lazio as they aim to regain their winning form and increase their lead at the top of Serie A.