Napoli Still Optimistic Despite Dropped Points In The Title Race

Written By Onyeka Daniel

With just twelve matches to end the 2024-25 Serie A season, the Scudetto race is shaping up to be an interesting one, unlike what we saw last season as Napoli are looking to mount a serious challenge to the current champions, Inter Milan.

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For the Partenopei, that aim took a huge hit today as they relinquished their position at the top of the table for the first time in a long while with a shocking 2-1 defeat against Como at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia. Assane Diao and an Amir Rrahmani own goal gave Como the win.

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This inadvertently hands Inter an advantage heading into their direct clash against the Partenopei next weekend. Fabregas made just one enforced change following last week’s 2-0 win over Fiorentina, bringing Marc Oliver Kempf back into the team in place of Alberto Dossena.

For Conte, he made a few personnel tweaks, bringing in Matteo Politano at wing-back and Leonardo Spinazzola on the left. Philip Billing was given his debut in place of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who was one yellow card away from a suspension.

Napoli got forward a few times within the opening minutes, but they fell behind through a comical own goal after just seven minutes of action. Rrahmani looked to play a simple ball back to his keeper, but Alex Meret was off his line, to the right hand side of the area.

This meant that there was nobody in the net to pick up the back-pass, which bounced helplessly into the net. Another error at the back helped Napoli on their way to an equaliser. This time it was Como’s Kempf who lost possession in a dangerous area.

Italian forward, Giacomo Raspadori was on hand to nick the ball, carry it into the area and slot it past the keeper for the equalizer. Como almost gave Napoli the lead with another slip-up at the back, but Kempf recovered well to dispossess Scott McTominay in the area.

Though Napoli finished the first half in control, it was Como with the momentum in the second half, although clear cut opportunities were lacking for both sides. McTominay took a wonderful touch to set himself.

He then launched a powerful effort on goal two thirds of the way through, but Jean Butez just about got a glove to it to tip it over for a corner. Another turnover in possession led to the third goal of the game. Rrahmani was the culprit again for Napoli.

The centre-back lost control of the ball, which allowed Nico Paz to slip in Diao on the edge of the area and the teenager made no mistake with his shot just inside the box. For the Partenopei, they’ve not lost since the 1-0 defeat by Lazio on December 8.

A nine games unbeaten run before today’s game, but they’re now without a win in their last four. Meanwhile, President Aurelio De Laurentiis has issued a rallying cry to the players and supporters after the defeat, insisting that being a point shy of Inter at the top of the table ‘shouldn’t scare us’.

This result means that they have lost control of the title race and now sit one point behind Inter heading into a direct clash against Simone Inzaghi’s side next weekend. Despite a drop-off in results over the last few weeks, De Laurentiis is still keeping positive.

“A point less than Inter shouldn’t scare us. We are a great team with a great coach. We are Napoli. Forza capitano, Forza ragazzi!,” the club President wrote in a tweet after full-time. As things stand, a victory for Napoli next weekend will put them two points above Inter in the standings.

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This will keep the title race to a one-game swing, but a Nerazzurri victory would send them four points clear, which would provide a slight bit of breathing room for the reigning champions and it could allow them to open a gap at the top of the table.

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