Napoli drop costly points in Serie A title race after draw at lowly Parma

[p]After beating AC Milan on Monday, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/napoli/69Dxbc61/"]Napoli[/a] travelled to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/parma/6DxlaxHN/"]Parma[/a] with the chance to ramp up the pressure on leaders Inter.[/p][p]However, the hosts were certainly in no mood to make life easy for the reigning Serie A champions, as they surged out of the blocks to take a surprise first-minute lead.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/elphege-nesta/4vlM6XrP/"]Nesta Elphege[/a] towered above two Napoli defenders to meet his goalkeeper’s long kick forward, nodding it on for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/strefezza-gabriel/zR7umNy4/"]Gabriel Strefezza[/a] to race into the box and curl a low shot in off the far post to spark early scenes of celebration from the home support.[/b][/p][p]Strefezza’s first Serie A goal proved to be the highlight of a first half that saw the visitors dominate possession but offer little in the way of clear-cut chances. [/p][image alt="Strefezza's early goal for Parma" id="62e92924-666d-4e22-b523-5dfeb293d637" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform (Reuters/Daniele Mascolo)" guid="b036e0fe-33b3-44f3-85c0-472e22dd3636" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]With Napoli searching for inspiration, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mctominay-scott/A7S3y397/"]Scott McTominay[/a] stepped up to the plate once again, pulling his side level following a slick move on the hour mark. [/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lobotka-stanislav/0Qcw6Yy1/"]Stanislav Lobotka[/a] fizzed the ball into [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hojlund-rasmus/0lk9Mt7D/"]Rasmus Hojlund[/a], who laid it off for McTominay to drill into the far bottom corner with the aid of a slight deflection. [/b][/p][p]The Scotman’s muted celebration was a clear sign that the job was not done, knowing that realistically only a win would do in their battle to retain the Scudetto. [/p][p]McTominay soon threatened with an audacious overhead kick that lacked the power to beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/suzuki-zion/4bDDVvmT/"]Zion Suzuki[/a], before lively substitute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alisson-santos/tYb4OysQ/"]Alisson Santos[/a] drove his right-footed shot into the side-netting as Antonio Conte’s side desperately searched for a winner.[/p][p]Suzuki’s strong save from Alisson in stoppage time sealed a third consecutive head-to-head draw, moving Carlos Cuesta’s charges nine points clear of danger and leaving Napoli praying for a favour from Como. [/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mctominay-scott/A7S3y397/"]Scott McTominay[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/napoli/69Dxbc61/"]Napoli[/a])[/b][/p][image alt="Player ratings" id="1f278da6-94c1-4490-ad73-2e8b4dc089f4" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="12530cce-d7b9-45ab-9764-d20676406a87" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/napoli-69Dxbc61/parma-6DxlaxHN/summary/stats/?mid=Uke4nUnL"]Catch up on the match stats with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]