Football
2016-17 Italian Serie A
NAP 
1
FT
 LAZ
1
PA Sport 7y

Lazio equalise quickly to earn draw at Napoli

Lazio salvaged a point at Napoli after goals from Keita and Marek Hamsik cancelled each other out in a frenetic two-minute spell at Stadio San Paolo.

Biancocelesti boss Simone Inzaghi reverted to a back three in a bid to shackle a Napoli side who won the equivalent fixture 5-0 last season, but still gave up the bulk of possession, territory and chances in the 1-1 draw.

When Hamsik gave the hosts a 52nd-minute lead with a smart turn and finish it might have broken Lazio's resistance but from virtually the next attack Keita latched on to Marco Parolo's pass and beat Pepe Reina, who should have done better at his near post.

The early signs were that it would be an open Serie A encounter, with a matter of seconds on the clock when Ciro Immobile's speculative effort forced Reina into the first save of the match.

Napoli went directly up the field in response and fashioned a chance for Dries Mertens, who shot wide.

The hosts settled quicker after that, Lorenzo Insigne volleying off target and failing with a long-range attempt and Mertens almost going clear on a couple of occasions.

The Belgian was putting himself in dangerous positions but his final product was not quite up to the standard of the approach work.

Lazio had largely been absorbing the pressure, barring one decent chance for Keita and a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic header just before the break.

The away side returned after the interval with new intent, Immobile foiled by Reina after producing a smart finish and spraying a second shot wide.

Insigne put Napoli back on the front foot with a surging run and Hamsik broke the deadlock from the next attack.

The Slovakian collected Faouzi Ghoulam's pass, pivoted sharply in the area and rifled his shot low into the bottom corner.

The lead disappeared in a flash as Parolo picked out Keita's run with a defence-splitting pass.

There was still work to do but Keita had it under control, finding a yard of space despite two defenders tracking him and netting with a near-post shot that Reina should have stopped.

There was almost a third goal in five minutes when Hamsik took aim again from distance but this time Federico Marchetti kept it out to restore some calm.

Both managers went to their bench in a bid to win it but of the six substitutes who landed in a 20-minute period, only Manolo Gabbiadini had a real chance to make a decisive contribution.

He had a sight of goal in the 70th minute but could not beat Marchetti.

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