Napoli missed the chance to climb to the top of Serie A after a 1-0 defeat at Udinese on Sunday.
The visitors had an opportunity to overtake AC Milan, who had earlier drawn 2-2 at home against Sassuolo, but struggled to break down a determined Udinese side. The hosts also had two goals disallowed during the match.
Napoli remain second with 31 points, just behind Milan, and one ahead of third-placed Inter Milan, who face Genoa later on Sunday. Udinese sit 10th with 21 points.
The first half passed without many notable incidents, but Udinese began to assert themselves after the break.
Keinan Davis initially thought he had given Udinese the lead, latching onto a rebound, but VAR flagged him offside, nullifying the effort.
Pressure continued to mount, and in the 69th minute, Nicolo Zaniolo appeared to score for Udinese after a smart run to the edge of the box, only for the referee to disallow it due to a foul in the build-up, sparking furious protests from the home fans.
Four minutes later, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp produced a moment of individual brilliance to break the deadlock. Picking up the ball from a tight angle near the edge of the box, he shrugged off a defender and curled a stunning shot into the top corner.
Napoli pushed for an equalizer late on, but Rasmus Hojlund’s header at the far post went over after he lost his footing.
Deep in stoppage time, Lorenzo Lucca had a chance as he stretched to connect with a cross inside the area, but the ball struck the base of the post and went wide, sealing Napoli’s disappointment.
