Fiorentina and Napoli shared the spoils in a pulsating 1-1 draw at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday afternoon. Both sides had their chances, but neither could find the decisive breakthrough in an entertaining contest.
Napoli squeezed past Bologna last weekend, securing a narrow 1-0 home win to end a rotten three-game losing streak in all competitions. As a result, the Partenopei had their sights set on winning back-to-back matches for the first time under Massimiliano Allegri.
However, Fiorentina dominated proceedings in the first 20 minutes, with Paolo Vanoli's side hitting the woodwork twice in less than 180 seconds. Napoli punished La Viola's misses in the 23rd minute as Billy Gilmour volleyed home a perfect corner-kick delivery from Matteo Politano to give the visitors a slender halftime lead.
The second half could not have started any worse for Napoli, as Bournemouth loanee Alex Jimenez restored parity in the 51st minute. The Spaniard's goal prompted the visitors to push forward in search of a response, yet they couldn't find a way past David De Gea , who made a few stunning saves to secure a point for Fiorentina.
Without further ado, let's look at our Napoli ratings.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic – 8/10
He may have failed to keep a clean sheet, but his outstanding saves to deny Niccolo Fagioli and Victor Valdepenas on either side of halftime kept Napoli in the game.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 7/10
Despite struggling to offer much in the attacking phase, the Napoli captain fared remarkably against Alieu Njie's quick pace, winning virtually every duel against the Fiorentina winger.
Amir Rrahmani – 8/10
Calm and collected in possession, the Partenopei stalwart excelled on the ball. More importantly, he held up his end of the bargain against Mateo Pellegrino , keeping La Viola's striker in his back pocket.
Rafa Marin – 7/10
Flawless in the first half, the Spaniard would've had a perfect game had Jimenez's shot not deflected off his leg and wrong-footed Milinkovic-Savic.
Mathias Olivera – 6/10
Solid defensively, the Uruguayan full-back kept Fiorentina's attackers at bay for most of the afternoon. However, his defensive orientation came at the expense of his attacking contribution.
Billy Gilmour – 6/10
The goal came as a fitting reward for the Scottish midfielder's superb performance today. His diagonal balls to Noa Lang and Politano often caught Fiorentina's high backline off guard.
Stanislav Lobotka – 6/10
Although heavily involved in the build-up, the diminutive playmaker rarely took any risks, keeping his passes clean and simple without offering much incision in the final third.
Matteo Politano – 6/10
Assisting Gilmour for the opening goal was perhaps the only reason Allegri kept him on the pitch for so long. He gave the ball away far too often and rarely managed to beat his man.
Kevin De Bruyne – 4/10
It wasn't his day! The former Manchester City superstar had little influence on the game and was unable to find his trademark killer pass, something that has defined his career.
Noa Lang – 4/10
Another disappointing display from the Dutch forward, who did little to unsettle Fiorentina's defense.
Rasmus Hojlund – 3/10
Cut off from the rest of the team for the best part of nearly 60 minutes he spent on the field, the Danish striker never put De Gea to the test.
Lorenzo Lucca – 5/10
David Neres – 6/10
Constantino Favasuli – 7/10
