Champions League | Napoli 0-0 Eintracht Frankfurt: Disappointing stalemate
Napoli were wasteful in attack, too sluggish in the tempo, and ultimately Eintracht Frankfurt had the best scoring opportunity in a disappointing 0-0 Champions League draw.
The pressure was on the Partenopei after the 6-2 defeat to PSV Eindhoven, leaving them with only three points from as many games. Lorenzo Lucca was suspended following his red card, with Kevin De Bruyne, Billy Gilmour, Leonardo Spinazzola, Alex Meret and Romelu Lukaku injured, but Stanislav Lobotka returned for his first start in over a month. Eintracht had beaten Galatasaray 5-1, then lost by the same scoreline to Atletico Madrid and Liverpool. Talent Can Uzun missed out along with Oscar Hojlund and Elias Baum.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa both went to meet the same cross from the left, practically colliding in the six-yard box, and allowing ex-Bologna defender Arthur Theate to charge down the striker’s finish.
Scott McTominay also got in the way of an Eljif Elmas strike from the edge of the area, the North Macedonia international stinging Michael Zetterer’s gloves after squirming between two defenders down the left.
The tempo dropped considerably as the Germans managed to successfully neutralise Napoli’s sluggish attacks, then after the break McTominay couldn’t keep it in play after trying to dribble around the goalkeeper.
Rasmus Kristensen’s strike skimmed the crossbar, but wouldn’t have counted because he had first pushed Miguel Gutierrez.
McTominay gathered an Elmas cross from the left and turned, his finish deflected just past the near post by Robin Koch, but the visitors had an even better chance when a poor Alessandro Buongiorno clearance fell to Ansgar Knauff, whose shot stung Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s gloves from eight yards.
Anguissa’s first touch let him down in a great position to score after good work from substitute Noa Lang and the Elmas through ball, while Miguel Gutierrez ballooned off target.
Gutierrez also risked an own goal when deflecting the Mario Götze cross into the arms of Milinkovic-Savic from point-blank range.
McTominay really should’ve done better on 83 minutes when Anguissa sprinted forward and pulled back from the by-line, but the Scotland international was off balance and fired over from 13 yards.
There were timid penalty appeals on 88 minutes, as Anguissa’s glancing header on a Lang cross hit Koch on the stomach more than the arm, then Giovanni Di Lorenzo turned the rebound off target.
Theate stumbled when cutting across David Neres and as he fell to the ground, the ball struck his elbow, but it could not realistically be called intentional handball.
Deep into stoppages, there was a double opportunity on a corner, as Zetterer parried the Elmas header, then captured the Hojlund flick off the outside of the boot.