Napoli starts at one point in Florence and he is the leader

Napoli couldn’t win their visit to Fiorentina but the 0-0 was enough to move them to the top of Serie A on goal difference. There are no teams left with outright wins after the third day’s contention and the ‘azzurri’ lead a tied group with 7 points made up of Milan, Lazio, Atalanta, Torino and Roma.

Artemio Franchi’s game was very balanced, especially in the first half that was played at a good pace but there were almost no chances because both teams, well structured and well positioned on the field, took chances and conceded little in defense.

Despite the lack of goals, the match did not fail due to the tension and physical waste of the players. In the first half, Fiorentina had a double chance in the 24th minute with Riccardo Sottil’s first shot, their worst player as ex-Madrid player Luka Jovic showed little, denying goalkeeper Alex Meret and a second crossed shot by Giacomo Bonaventura that came out very close to the post.

Osimhen goal disallowed

Just before the break, Napoli got away with it as the offside Victor Osimhen scored offside.

In the second half the away team began to play with more fluidity and Hirving Lozano soon headed wide after a good cross from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgian, who scored three goals in the first two match days, was largely overlooked today and Luciano Spalleti came on for debutant Giacomo Raspadori at game time.

Raspadori, Gio Simeone and Ndombélé made their debuts

Shortly after, new signings Gio Simeone (came on for Osimhen) and Tanguy Ndombélé also made their debuts at Napoli and, despite the fact that they provided renewed energy in attack, it remained 0-0 at scoreboard. Pierluigi Gollini thwarted the Azzurri’s last notable attempt by deflecting a low, hard shot from Raspadori for a corner. Fiorentina, unbeaten with 5 points, did not compromise and looked for the goal but also without success.