Napoli 3-3 Roma: Balerdi snatches late draw in Serie A thriller

Leonardo Balerdi scored an 89th-minute equaliser as Roma fought their way to a 3-3 draw with Napoli.

The defender came off the bench to score twice for Roma, who found themselves 2-0 down at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after goals from Frank Anguissa and Scott McTominay in this Serie A encounter.

Matias Soule triggered the comeback before Balerdi got his first equaliser, and the substitute got his second late on after McTominay thought his brace had secured all three points for Napoli.

Napoli had the better chances in the early stages, with Rasmus Hojlund seeing a shot blocked and McTominay volleying straight at Pierluigi Gollini, while Giovanni Di Lorenzo saw a low cross expertly cleared away by Devyne Rensch.

Alex Meret was alert to keep out Donyell Malen's driven effort with his legs, and Napoli eventually got their deserved opener in the 28th minute as Anguissa sent a bicycle kick into the bottom-right corner after Marten de Roon initially cleared a cross.

Gollini pulled off an incredible save to deny Mathias Olivera from close range, with Bryan Cristante also clearing the rebound off the line, but Napoli doubled their lead three minutes after the restart as McTominay headed in from Matteo Politano's cross.

McTominay managed to deflect Soule's shot wide at the other end, though the Argentine would not be denied in the 69th minute, when he curled into the far corner following a tidy one-two with Malen.

And just five minutes later, Roma were level. Evan Ndicka won the initial header from De Roon's corner, and though the defender was blocked by team-mate Santiago Castro, Balerdi was on hand to lash in the loose ball.

Massimiliano Allegri made a host of changes in the hopes of regaining the lead, but it came from one of his starters, as McTominay took in a pass from Olivera and arrowed into the bottom-left corner.

However, there was time for one last twist as Balerdi timed his run perfectly to head Wesley's right-wing cross past Meret and snatch a point for the visitors.

Napoli denied statement win

Sitting mid-table in the early Serie A standings, Napoli would have hugely benefited from a hard-earned victory against Roma, but Gian Piero Gasperini's side proved why they are title challengers.

Gollini made five saves to ensure Roma had a chance to win at least a point, with Napoli accumulating 2.34 expected goals (xG) to the visitors' 1.86, which came from 24 shots.

Not many would have imagined Balerdi, who had not scored a league goal since the 2023-24 season, when he was at Marseille, to bag a brace off the bench, but Roma must have contributions from plenty of players if they are to mount a serious title charge.

It seemed Napoli's ever-reliable McTominay earned them another invaluable win in the 83rd minute, but the Scotsman was denied the headlines.

Since his move to Serie A (2024-25), McTominay is the midfielder in the top five European leagues who has scored the most headed goals across all competitions: 11 - followed by Casemiro and Corentin Tolisso with 10.

Nevertheless, Roma keep themselves within touching distance of Inter and Lazio for the time being, while Napoli could drop into the bottom half of the table by the end of the weekend, placing more pressure on Allegri's shoulders.