Parma delivered an ineffective Napoli 2-1 defeat on Wednesday in a Serie A game in which all goals came from penalties.
Napoli, who lost only the second time since the resumption of the season, had 65% of possession in a sultry evening at Ennio Tardini but fought to turn it into a possibility, a failure that frustrated the coach Gennaro Gattuso throughout season.
– ESPN FC Daily streaming on ESPN + (USA only)
– Streaming of Serie A matches on ESPN +
Parma, tenth place, which last won at home on January 26, when they beat Udinese 2-0, ended a seven-game winless race.
Gianluca Caprari brought Parma ahead in the first half due to a slight penalty after Mario Rui captured Alberto Grassi with his final foot.
Lorenzo Insigne responded in the 54th minute after a powerful shot by Fabian Ruiz hit Grassi’s arm at close range and the referee indicated the point after a VAR revision.
But Parma won the game when substitute Dejan Kulusevski went further as he was challenged by Kalidou Koulibaly and the Swede converted the penalty himself in the 87th minute.
The Napoli record with the signing of Hirving Lozano only started his tenth game in the league of the season and had a shot saved by Luigi Sepe in the second half in one of the few openings of his team.
Substitute Amin Younes was expected to equalize in stoppage time but pulled the shot over the bar.
Napoli, who remained seventh with 56 points, have secured a place in the Europa League by winning the Italian Cup and are focusing on their last 16 Champions League games against Barcelona next month.
