Napoli 0-0 Como: Morata made to rue saved penalty against Serie A leaders
Como showed their quality against reigning champions Napoli on Saturday, but were unable to walk away with three points after a 0-0 draw.
Alvaro Morata's saved penalty proved consequential for Como, as they drew 0-0 with Napoli at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Napoli have now opened the door for Roma to move to the Serie A summit, if they can beat AC Milan, after the Partenopei failed to trouble their visitors on Saturday.
In a fairly quiet first half, in terms of scoring opportunities, the best chance fell to Morata from the penalty spot in the 26th minute.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic fouled the Spaniard in the box, but the goalkeeper atoned for his error as he dived low to his left to deny the spot-kick.
The hosts were pinned back in their own half for the majority of the match, with Antonio Conte's side having just 43.3% of possession, but went close when Matteo Politano forced a brilliant save from Jean Butez after the hour mark.
Rasmus Hojlund then went close to finding a winner 10 minutes from time, but his header from Politano's cross was straight at Butez, much to the frustration of Conte on the sidelines.
Como dropped deeper into their own half as the game went on and held on for a point against the league leaders, although they still will be left wondering how things could have ended if Morata had scored earlier on.
Data Debrief: Penalty killer Milinkovic-Savic strikes again
Napoli accumulated just 0.32 expected goals (xG) from 10 shots, while Como produced 1.03, largely boosted by their penalty, in what was a nervy affair in Naples.
Milinkovic-Savic has now saved six of his last 10 penalties in Serie A, and since the start of last season, only Nikola Vasilj (six) has saved as many penalties as the Serbian goalkeeper (five) in Europe's top five leagues.
Since 2006-07, only three Napoli goalkeepers have saved more than one penalty in a single season: Alex Meret (two in both 2023-24 and 2024-25), Morgan De Sanctis (three in 2009-10) and now Milinkovic-Savic.
Napoli have saved the joint-most penalties in the last four seasons in the top five European leagues, denying seven of 14 they have faced (level with Las Palmas and Bochum).
