Two last-gasp goals against stand-in keeper Enrico Del Prato (24) secured SSC Napoli a 2-1 victory over Parma, leaving the Gialloblu without an away win in their last 15 Serie A matches.
Parma suffered an early setback when Emanuele Valeri left the pitch injured after eight minutes. Nevertheless, Valentin Mihaila broke through Napoli’s backline before shooting wide, and the visitors were coping well with the lively Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
They also hit the woodwork twice in quick succession, with Mateusz Kowalski’s header striking the crossbar and Ange-Yoann Bonny hitting the post. Undaunted, Bonny won a spot-kick from Alex Meret shortly after and fooled the keeper from 12 yards to break the deadlock.
Napoli sought a swift equaliser, but Zion Suzuki was up to the task, saving Pasquale Mazzocchi’s header, while Del Prato bravely rushed out to block Kvaratskhelia’s volley.
The away side continued to weather the storm after the cooling break, though there was a nervy moment when Suzuki had to clear the ball hastily after it had rebounded off Del Prato.
Adrian Bernabe then came within a whisker of scoring with a long-range effort, while Kvaratskhelia persisted in his attempts to draw Napoli level but saw his low drive pushed away.
The hosts relentlessly pushed for an equaliser after the break but Parma continued to hold firm, with Suzuki saving more attempts from Kvaratskhelia while Giacomo Raspadori’s powerful shot was blocked.
In desperate need of a goal, Antonio Conte turned to debutant Romelu Lukaku in the 62nd minute before Buongiorno hit the crossbar.
The hosts were then buoyed by Suzuki receiving a second yellow for his challenge on David Neres having previously been booked for time wasting – a scenario made far worse by Del Prato being forced to go in goal with Fabio Pecchia having used all of his substitutions.
There was a fear that the makeshift goalkeeper would have to face a penalty following Pontus Almqvist’s challenge on Giovanni Simeone, but it was deemed not to be a foul following a VAR. Even so, there was disappointment moments later as Lukaku’s strike was too powerful for him to deal with in the second of 11 added minutes.
Del Prato was then beaten again by a bullet header from Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, as Napoli earned back-to-back victories and Parma suffered their first defeat of the SA campaign after Almqvist’s strike in the final moments was saved.
