Napoli’s hopes of closing the gap on Juventus at the top of the Serie A to two points were dashed yesterday following an under-par performance in 0-0 draw at home to Sampdoria.
With leaders Juve losing 1-0 at Roma on Saturday, second-placed Napoli were looking to up the pressure on their Turin rivals and bounce back after a 3-0 Europa League defeat at the San Paolo against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday.
The game was preceded by a minute’s silence to remember former Napoli player Carmelo Imbriani, who died of cancer on Friday at 37.
Juventus still remain within touching distance, albeit four rather than two points away, with the two sides meeting at the San Paolo in March.
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri did not speak to the press afterwards but sporting director Riccardo Bigon said this was because of illness.
“We remain convinced that we have our future in our hands.
“We created plenty of chances against Sampdoria, we’re still optimistic about our chances in this title race,” Bigon said.
“Mazzarri? He’s not well. He’s got a 38-degree temperature, he’s gone home to get some rest.”
Sampdoria coach Delio Rossi was serving a touchline ban following an altercation with Roma players last weekend. His right-hand man Fedele Limone was satisfied with a well-earned point.
“We worked really hard defensively, we gave very little away to Napoli,” the assistant coach said.
“The pitch? It’s the same for everybody. It was a problem for us when it came to trying to find space, it certainly did affect us.”
Fiorentina rejoined the hunt for a Champions League place with a resounding win over Inter at the Stadio Artemio Franchi last night.
Two goals apiece from Adem Ljajic and Stevan Jovetic earned the Viola all three points in arguably their most impressive performance of the season.
Vincenzo Montella’s side gave Inter no chance at all in a totally one-sided game, although Antonio Cassano did restore some pride for Inter with a fine consolation goal in the 87th minute.
That was not enough to prevent Inter from ending the weekend behind their city rivals Milan, who they meet in the second Derby della Madonnina of the season on Sunday.
Struggling Pescara lost 2-0 to Cagliari while Torino earned a useful three points with a 2-1 win at home to Atalanta.
Genoa, easing themselves clear of the drop zone, saw off Udinese 1-0 and Catania are seventh thanks to a 1-0 defeat of Bologna.
Serie A
Catania 1
Almiron 42;
Bologna 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 12,000.
Fiorentina 4
Ljajic 13, 65; Jovetic 33, 55;
Inter 1
Cassano 87;
HT: 2-0. Att: 27,816.
Genoa 1
Kucka 33;
Udinese 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 16,000.
Napoli 0
Sampdoria 0
Att: 40,000.
Pescara 0
Cagliari 2
Sau 53, 61;
HT: 0-0. Att: 12,000.
Red card: Weiss (P) 90.
Torino 2
Cerci 42; Birsa 87;
Atalanta 1
Denis 75 pen;
HT: 1-0. Att: 20,000.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus | 25 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 50 | 17 | 55 |
| Napoli | 25 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 46 | 21 | 51 |
| Milan | 25 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 44 | 31 | 44 |
| Lazio | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 26 | 44 |
| Inter | 25 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 33 | 43 |
| Fiorentina | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 45 | 30 | 42 |
| Catania | 25 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 32 | 30 | 39 |
| Roma | 25 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 51 | 45 | 37 |
| Udinese | 25 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 35 | 34 | 36 |
| Parma | 25 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 31 | 33 | 32 |
| Torino (-1) | 25 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 29 | 28 | 31 |
| Sampdoria (-1) | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 31 | 30 | 29 |
| Chievo | 25 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 26 | 40 | 29 |
| Cagliari | 25 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 28 | 41 | 28 |
| Atalanta (-2) | 25 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 22 | 35 | 27 |
| Bologna | 25 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 33 | 35 | 26 |
| Genoa | 25 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 26 | 37 | 25 |
| Pescara | 25 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 20 | 51 | 21 |
| Palermo | 25 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 39 | 19 |
| Siena (-6) | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 34 | 18 |
Playing today
Siena vs Lazio - 20.45
Top scorers
18 goals: Cavani (Napoli).
15 goals: El Shaarawy (Milan).
14 goals: Di Natale (Udinese).
11 goals: Jovetic (Fiorentina), Osvaldo (Roma), Lamela (Roma).
10 goals: Gilardino (Bologna), Sau (Cagliari), Klose (Lazio), Pazzini (Milan).
Next fixtures
Saturday: 20.45 Palermo vs Genoa.
Sunday: 12.30 Sampdoria vs Chievo. 15.00 Atalanta vs Roma; Bologna vs Fiorentina; Cagliari vs Torino; Juventus vs Siena; Parma vs Catania. 20.45 Inter vs Milan.
Monday, February 25: 19.00 Udinese vs Napoli. 21.00 Lazio vs Pescara.
Serie B
Novara 1 - Verona 0
Prima Divisione ‘A’
AlbinoLeffe vs Carpi 1-0; Cremonese vs Cuneo 2-0; FeralpiSalo vs Lumezzane 0-0; Pavia vs Tritium 0-0; Portogruaro vs Treviso 2-0; Reggiana vs Entella 2-0; SudTirol vs San Marino 0-0. Today –20.45 Lecce vs Como.
Leading standings: Lecce 40; Trapani 39; SudTirol 37; San Marino 35; Entella 34; Lumezzane 33; Carpi 31; Pavia 30.
Prima Divisione ‘B’
Avellino vs Frosinone 1-0; Benevento vs Gubbio 2-1; Carrarese vs Pisa 2-3; Catanzaro vs Viareggio 2-0; Latina vs Barletta 2-0; Paganese vs Prato 0-0; Perugia vs Nocerina 2-1; Sorrento vs Andria 0-0.
Leading standings: Latina 43; Avellino 41; Perugia, Nocerina 36; Pisa 33; Benevento 32; Frosinone 31; Catanzaro 28.