Having twice come from behind to hold Serie A leaders Inter Milan to a 2-2 draw on Sunday, the Partenopei looked full of confidence in the early stages against Parma.
Scott McTominay thought he’d opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he bundled home from close range after a goalmouth scramble, only for the Scot’s effort to be disallowed for offside.
That didn’t deter the hosts, who threatened again shortly before the half-hour mark, as Alessandro Buongiorno saw a good headed chance repelled by Filippo Rinaldi.
Unbeaten in the last four meetings (W3, D1), Napoli remained on the front foot with half-time looming, but Rinaldi stood firm in the visitors’ goal again, denying a sharp low strike from Rasmus Hojlund.
That was as close as either side came to breaking the deadlock, with Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Matteo Politano firing further opportunities off-target for Conte’s side, while at the other end, Jacob Ondrejka saw an effort from range comfortably saved by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Having gone unbeaten in their last four top-flight games on the road (W3, D1), Parma looked assured at the start of the second period, limiting the Partenopei to little of note in the final third.
That sparked Conte into a triple substitution before the hour mark, with David Neres, Eljif Elmas, and Leonardo Spinazzola all making their way onto the pitch. However, Napoli remained short of ideas in attack, as Di Lorenzo headed wastefully over from inside the box and McTominay shot straight at Rinaldi.
The hosts continued to commit numbers forward in pursuit of a late winner, but Stanislav Lobotka’s tame strike was all too easy for Rinaldi, with the Parma rearguard holding firm to secure a hard-fought share of the spoils.
As for Napoli, despite dropping costly points in the title race, they move level on points with second-placed AC Milan and extend their unbeaten home run in Serie A to 20 matches (W14, D6).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Filippo Rinaldi (Parma)
