Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, was on for all 90 minutes but failed to add to his nine goals so far this season as Napoli were held to a 0-0 draw by AS Roma in a tension-soaked encounter at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome with both managers getting the referee’s marching orders.
Roma endured a punishing night with their manager Jose Mourinho being shown the red card for a second dissent but the Capital city club managed to halt Serie A leaders Napoli’s 100 percent start to the season with a 0-0 draw on Sunday.
Napoli, who had won all their opening eight games of the season, were hoping to count AS Roma as casualty number nine but Mourinho lined up an ultra-defensive side which conceded possession but held on for a share of the spoils.
Osimhen had a great chance to score in the 14th minute but saw his effort quickly blocked by the Roma defence. He was also on hand to relieve the pressure on his own backline with a hasty clearance.
Roma, humiliated 6-1 in the third-tier Europa Conference League by Norway’s Bodoe Glimt, needed a reaction and Mourinho had promised to effect changes while accepting responsibility for the defeat.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss had insisted that not even a defeat of Napoli would assuage for the reverse at Bodoe Glimt. He said even if Roma should beat Napoli 6-1, it will not be enough to erase the errors he committed in the last game.
As it transpired, he was sent off by referee Davide Massa on 81 minutes following a first half yellow card. The sending off overshadowed a hard game at home for his team in which the opposition utterly dominated with as much as 62 percent of possession.
However, there was late drama at full time when Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti was also shown a straight red card for dissent by the referee.
Napoli are now tied on the log with Milan on 25 points from nine games though the Neapolitans have a better goal advantage.
