El Shaarawy strikes to dent Napoli’s title hopes

Stephan El Shaarawy’s last-gasp equalise secured AS Roma a 1-1 draw at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Monday, putting an end to Napoli’s Serie A title chances.

After captain Lorenzo Insigne broke the stalemate with a well-taken penalty after 11 minutes, the hosts led for the duration of the game in a tense match in Naples.

Napoli, chasing their first Scudetto since 1990, appeared nervous as they sought three points to narrow the gap on leaders AC Milan, with Roma having multiple chances to equalise in the second half.

As the clock approached 90 minutes, the home side appeared to have done enough to cling on but substitute El Shaarawy broke Napoli’s hearts in stoppage time, striking a leveller that in-form Roma deserved.

With 67 points from 33 games, Napoli is in third place, four points behind leaders AC Milan. Roma remained in fifth place with 58 points, having extended their Serie A unbeaten streak to 12 games.

Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti told DAZN after the match: ‘There is a bit of disappointment, the match was conducted well in some respects.

‘We were dealing with a strong team that in certain situations created some problems for us, but the biggest disappointment goes to the final part.

‘We all had fresh midfielders, we weren’t as good at managing the ball as I expected. We conceded goals from a tactical and development point of view that was highly avoidable.’

When asked about striker Lorenzo Insigne, who is leaving the club at the end of the season and was seen crying on the pitch at the conclusion, Spalletti responded:

‘I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. The time to leave the team for which he has always played is approaching, they are special sensations.

‘You have to hear him, he played a good game. When it was time to take responsibility, he fully fulfilled the task.’

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