Napoli drop crucial points in title race after late Genoa equaliser

Napoli’s Serie A title ambitions suffered a blow on Sunday following a 2-2 draw with Genoa at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The result leaves Antonio Conte’s squad just one point ahead of Inter Milan with two matches remaining in the 2025 season.

Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring in the 15th minute, finishing clinically after receiving a through ball from Scott McTominay.

The visitors equalised when Junior Messias’ cross was headed onto the post by Honest Ahanor before deflecting in off goalkeeper Alex Meret’s leg in the 32nd minute.

Giacomo Raspadori restored Napoli’s advantage after 62 minutes when he latched onto McTominay’s pass and fired home at the near post.

However, Johan Vasquez headed in Aaron Martin’s cross with just six minutes left to play, silencing the home crowd and earning Genoa a valuable point.

The timing of the result compounds the pressure on Napoli, with Inter having defeated Torino earlier in the day. The Milan club, who have reached this year’s UEFA Champions League final, now sit just a single point behind the league leaders with two fixtures remaining for both teams.

Despite early opportunities from Matteo Politano and McTominay, plus several second-half chances that tested Benjamin Siegrist in the Genoa goal, Napoli could not find a winner.

The draw is a significant missed opportunity in what has become an extraordinarily tight race for the Serie A championship.