AS Roma 0 - 0 Napoli: Derby del Sole ends in drab draw

Neither Roma or Napoli could find a moment of quality to win the Derby del Sole, as they played out a goalless draw at the Stadio Olimpico. It was the first 0-0 draw between the two sides in the capital since 1980, bringing Napoli’s 100% Serie A record this season to an end. 

There were few bright moments in the opening 45 minutes, with Roma having the stronger start as they tried to erase the memory of the embarrassing 6-1 defeat to Bodø/Glimt on Thursday. 

A Tammy Abraham chance just shy of the half-hour mark proved to be the sole moment of danger for either team. The English striker latched onto a pinpoint ball from Bryan Cristante, but could only fire wide as he bore down on David Ospina in the Napoli goal.

After the restart, Napoli looked sharper against a noticeably more defensive Roma, and fifteen minutes into the second half the hosts needed heroic defending to keep the game level. A delightful reverse pass from Fabián Ruiz allowed Matteo Politano to get to the byline, and he pulled it back to the in-form Victor Osimhen who had the goal at his mercy, but the Nigerian striker was denied by Roger Ibañez and Gianluca Mancini, with the latter’s block turning the ball onto the post, and Rick Karsdorp was on hand to block Mario Rui’s shot on the rebound.

Having saved his team at one end, Mancini then missed the best opportunity of the match, as he flashed a header wide from a wonderfully-delivered free-kick by Lorenzo Pellegrini. A red card for José Mourinho in the later stages of the match ensured the Portuguese manager will again dominate the headlines, although that may have been different had Osimhen’s late goal not been ruled out for offside.