Politano gives Napoli last-gasp win, Lukaku salvages point for Inter
Napoli climbed to sixth with 56 points while Udinese is 16th with 36, but with a seven-point cushion between itself and the relegation zone.
Published : Jul 20, 2020 02:07 IST
Napoli forward Matteo Politano scored deep into stoppage time to give it a 2-1 win at home to Udinese on Sunday, minutes after defender Kalidou Koulibaly had rescued the host with a dramatic goal-line clearance.
Udinese forward Rodrigo De Paul looked set to score in the 85th minute when the ball ran loose to him with only goalkeeper David Ospina to beat. He dinked it over the Colombian but Koulibaly managed to get his knee to it and deflect it onto the crossbar.
Instead, Politano curled in the winner for Napoli, his first goal for the club, in the 95th minute.
De Paul gave Udinese the lead in the 22nd minute after the Napoli defence failed to cut out Marvin Zeegelaar's low cross and the Argentine drove the ball in from the edge of the area.
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Napoli lost forward Dries Mertens to injury but his replacement Arkadiusz Milik scored almost immediately after coming on.
Jose Callejon miskicked from Lorenzo Insigne's cross but Fabian Ruiz sent the ball back into the area and Milik prodded it home in the 31st minute, the Pole's first touch of the game.
Napoli climbed to sixth with 56 points, ahead of AC Milan on goal difference, while Udinese is 16th with 36, but with a seven-point cushion between itself and the relegation zone.
Late Lukaku penalty salvages point for Inter at Roma
Inter Milan substitute Romelu Lukaku's penalty in the 88th minute salvaged a 2-2 draw at AS Roma as it stuttered in its pursuit of leader Juventus.
Second-placed Inter will see the result as two points lost since it is five behind Juve, which hosts Lazio on Monday. After that, there are four matches each to play.
The spot kick was given away in bizarre style by Leonardo Spinazzola, scorer of Roma's first goal, when he missed his kick as he attempted to clear the ball upfield and made contact with Inter forward Victor Moses instead.
Stefan de Vrij had given Inter the lead in the 15th minute before Spinazzola levelled on the stroke of halftime and Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired Roma ahead in the 57th minute.