Napoli dominated possession and peppered the Parma goal with 16 shots, but Filippo Rinaldi’s heroics preserved a hard-fought 0-0 draw for the visitors at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday.
The hosts thought they’d broken through in the 13th minute when Scott McTominay found the net, only for VAR to cruelly cancel the goal. That early setback set the tone for an afternoon of frustration for the Partenopei, who controlled nearly 70% of possession but couldn’t find the finishing touch.
Rinaldi proved unbeatable between the sticks, making four crucial saves to deny Napoli’s attacking efforts. The Parma goalkeeper’s performance earned him a match-high 7.7 rating, though his late yellow card suggested the pressure had mounted on the visitors’ last line of defense.
Defensively, Napoli were equally impressive. Amir Rrahmani led the backline with a commanding 7.9-rated display, recording two interceptions. Giovanni Di Lorenzo (7.6) and the creative force Noa Lang (7.6) both contributed three and two key passes respectively, as Napoli searched desperately for the breakthrough.
The second half saw wholesale changes, with Napoli making five substitutions in an attempt to unlock Parma’s stubborn defense. Alessandro Circati (7.5) and Mariano Troilo (7.3) formed a resolute partnership at the back for the visitors, who absorbed wave after wave of pressure.
With seven corner kicks to Parma’s one and 90% pass completion, Napoli did everything but score. Parma’s defensive discipline, anchored by seven interceptions to Napoli’s six, proved the difference in securing an unlikely point.
The result leaves Napoli ruing missed opportunities against a Parma side that came for a point and left with their game plan executed to perfection.
