Napoli dropped two costly points in their away match against Parma, settling for a 1-1 draw. Antonio Conte’s side now must hope that Como secure a favourable result against league leaders Inter on Sunday evening; otherwise, the reigning champions’ title defence will be on hold for the moment.
Within two minutes the visitors were behind: Gabriel Strefezza raced onto a long ball from his goalkeeper, Nesta Elphege flicked it on, and the Brazilian-Italian forward coolly finished one-on-one to make it 1-0.
Trailing early, Napoli patiently probed but lacked a telling final ball. They tested Suzuki five times in the first half without finding the target.
The pattern repeated after the interval: Napoli pushed forward while Parma defended deep. Matteo Politano’s early effort sailed over Zion Suzuki’s crossbar.
Nevertheless, Napoli equalised soon after. A slick move released Rasmus Højlund, whose perfect lay-off allowed Scott McTominay to side-foot home and underline his growing value to the champions. With 15 minutes left the Scot almost struck again, this time with a fierce overhead kick that Suzuki pushed away.
Parma also threatened on the break, and Mandela Keita went close after the visitors appealed for a handball by Alessandro Buongiorno; the referee, to Parma’s frustration, waved play on despite clear contact.
Shortly afterwards, Eljif Elmas headed wide from a golden chance that should have put Napoli ahead. The Partenopei kept pressing for a breakthrough, but star defender Suzuki repeatedly denied them. In the end, that decisive goal never came.
As a result, league leaders Inter have the opportunity to extend their advantage in the title race when they host Como on Sunday evening; a win would open up a nine-point gap.