In the Serie A rematch in midweek, with Cristante's stunner, Roma won Udinese without danger, and also took the lead in the battle for five. After three days of adjustment, Roma ushered in another tough game, going to face Napoli away, who has only won one of the last five rounds, only ranked 8th in the standings, and may even miss out on next season's European competition. Dybala scored from the spot, Oliveira and Osimhen scored two goals in a row, and Abraham equalized with a header in the 89th minute, and the two teams drew 2-2.
Led the team to the opponent's turf, De Rossi still put on a 4-3-3 formation, Svillar continued to defend the final hurdle for Roma, ruled out the return of Ndicka, who had a heart attack, and formed a defensive line with Andreas Christensen, Spinazzola and Mancini, the midfield trio was Beauvais, Cristante and Pellegrini, Dybala, El Shaarawy and Azmoun combined the front three, Lukaku was absent due to injury, Paredes was suspended.
At home, Karzona also lined up 4-3-3, with Osimhen playing as central striker, Kvaratskhelia and Politano on either side, Anguisa, Lobotka and Cayuste in midfield, and Di Lorenzo, Rahmani, Gabriel Jesus and Oliveira in defence, with Meret still Napoli's starting goalkeeper.
After the start of the game, Roma played quite aggressively, and in the sixth minute, Dybala's corner cross was headed by Mancini, and Manegrini relayed the ball over the crossbar. In the 15th minute, Napoli also had a good chance to open the scoring when Kvaratskhelia's cross was just right, but Gabriel Jesus volleyed high from inside the box.
In the 20th minute, Politano sent a scalpel through the right side, Di Lorenzo cut in at high speed, and Svillar blocked the near corner in time to keep the ball out. In the 30th minute, Napoli tore the gap from the right again, Osimhen shot hard from a tight angle, and Svillar saved the ball again.
Seven minutes later, Osimhen dropped back to play the ball and sent a precise cross, Anguissa cut in at high speed, facing the attacking Roma goalkeeper, and knocked the ball away with a kick! In the 42nd minute, Di Lorenzo made the ball with his back, Kvaratskhelia swept to the right side of the penalty area, and Jesus stabbed the ball high over the crossbar in the face of the empty goal.
In stoppage time, Napoli were awarded set-pieces, Kvaratskhelia's cross was just right, and Di Lorenzo leapt over the top to glove the far post again. In the first 45 minutes, Napoli had as many as 14 shots on goal, but there were no grains, and it was 0-0 to go into the break.
Back on the pitch, it was Roma who opened the scoring first. In the 59th minute, Pellegrini instigated an offensive with a long pass, Christensen's header was ferried, Azmoun grabbed the point and was brought down in the penalty area, and the referee signaled a penalty. Dybala withstood the pressure and made it 1-0!
However, Napoli, who were behind, equalized five minutes later! In the 64th minute, Oliveira advanced with the ball and shot hard from outside the penalty area, the ball hit Christensen's leg to produce a strange arc, over Svillar's head and into the net, the score came to 1-1!
In the 82nd minute, the magic played out again, Kvaratskhelia forced a breakthrough with the ball, and was entangled by Renato Sanchez and fell to the ground. The former got up and continued to advance, the latter stepped on the opponent in a hurry, and the referee reviewed the VAR and confirmed that the foul occurred in the penalty area, and decisively awarded a penalty.
In the 84th minute, Osimhen withstood the pressure and scored a penalty, and Napoli reversed the score 2-1. However, in the 89th minute, Roma's corner kick offensive, Dybala's cross was hoisted into the penalty area, Ndicka's header was ferried, and Abraham relayed to the top of the net, and the referee signaled offside at first, but VAR verified that the goal was valid, 2-2!
At the same time, Atalanta won 2-0 at Empoli, which reduced Roma's lead to two points with one more game in hand, and the initiative in the fight for fifth place was handed over, and next season's Champions League place was in jeopardy.