Nigeria's Victor Osimhen was not on the score sheet as Napoli played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at home against Torino on Friday night.
Coach Francesco Calzona made just one change to the starting XI that beat Juventus in their last Serie A outing with Piotr Zielinski coming in for Hamed Junior Traore in midfield.
Following a goalless draw in the first-half, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put Napoli ahead in the 61 minute mark as he shot from close range into the bottom left corner from a brilliant pass into the box from Mario Rui down the left.
However, the Partenopei's lead only lasted for three minutes as the visitors quickly regrouped to claw themselves back into the game through Antonio Sanabria who fired a stunning overhead kick inside the box from a rebound after Napoli failed to clear their lines.
Napoli who have not lost a game since Calzona took over the team from Walter Mazzari in the last week of February, had to dig deep to try and get a winner in the remaining minutes of regulation time.
But despite the good efforts from the hosts, Il Toro stood strong like the Bull they are to come out with a hard-fought draw at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples.
⏹️ Full time: #NapoliTorino 1-1
💙 #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/7INTNmwYnw
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) March 8, 2024
The visitors had beaten Napoli 3-0 in the reverse fixture in January, and did just enough to score from just two shots on target.
On the other hand, Calzona's side registered 8 shots on target but a brilliant performance from Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in goal for Torino ensured that Champions League qualification for Napoli becomes tougher going into the remaining matches of the season.
The Serie A defending champions find themselves in 5th place, 7 points behind Bologna who currently occupy 4th position and with a game in hand.
The injury scare to Victor Osimhen
Osimhen was a constant threat in attack for Napoli against Torino, as he laboured tirelessly to score and assist his teammates on the night.
In the 65th minute mark, Osimhen got himself involved in an aerial duel and as he landed awkwardly, the 25-year-old was seen holding his right thigh whilst appearing to be in a great deal of pain.
The situation with the striker looked nervous for the players and coach of the team who for a moment looked to sub him off. Nonetheless, Osimhen shook off the injury scare and was back in action for Napoli.
The Super Eagles hitman went on to finish the game without any thing to worry about with an important fixture coming up for his side in midweek.
Next in line for Napoli
The Partenopei will make the trip to Barcelona for their Champions League round of 16 second leg at the Olímpic Lluís Companys Stadium next Tuesday.
Having played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Naples in the first leg, Napoli will be looking forward to having a memorable European night of football against a side they've not beaten competitively in their previous five meetings.
Under Luciano Spalletti's guidance, the reigning Serie A champions booked their spot in last season's Champions League quarter-finals where they lost 2-1 on aggregate against league rivals AC Milan.
The clash against Barcelona presents another chance for the club to register back-to-back appearances in the last eight of Europe's elite football competition. And they will be up for it especially with the loss of players in midfield for the Spanish side.
This article was most recently revised and updated 7 months ago
