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Napoli 1-1 Genoa; Player ratings, Mertens Napoli's best player as they labour to a disappointing draw against Genoa's ten men

Napoli 1-1 Genoa; Player ratings, Mertens Napoli's best player as they labour to a disappointing draw against Genoa's ten men

Napoli endured another frustrating evening tonight at the hands of Genoa, who despite playing with 10 men for most of the match, defended admirably, as Napoli lacked any sort of creativity or cutting edge.

Genoa were a man down after less than half an hour when Sturaro was shown a straight red, after a VAR review, for a dangerously high lunge on Allan. Napoli made the most of their numerical advantage not long after, when Zielinski squared the ball for Mertens, who, despite being some way out, found the bottom corner with pinpoint accuracy. However Genoa managed to get back level just before the break when Lazovic found space at the far post and volleyed home a lovely Pandev cross.

In the second half Genoa defended well, remaining tight and compact, and Napoli never looked likely to break them down. Ancelotti will be worried by their complete lack of a cutting edge, as they failed to really test Radu, despite their man advantage. They struggled to find any space, often trying to play their way through the middle where it was very congested, and when they did get the ball wide, their final ball was often lacking.
 
Ratings:
 
Karnezis – 6.5 – Made a couple of good saves in the first half, and had little chance with Genoa’s goal. Saved Napoli from further embarrassment late on with a good save from Kouamé.
 
Hysaj – 6 – Didn’t offer enough going forward, especially considering Genoa were a man down and rarely ventured out of their half in the second period.
 
Maksimovic – 7 – Another reliable solid performance, strong in the air all night and in truth didn’t have a great deal to do in the second half.
 
Koulibaly – 7 – Looked a bit suspect in the first half but recovered after the break and looked more composed. Almost played as an extra midfielder at times, and could have won it late on.
 
Ghoulam – 6.5 – Went to sleep for Genoa’s goal, allowing Lazovic to run off the back of him before volleying in. Got in some dangerous positions going forward but his crosses rarely found a blue shirt.
 
Callejon – 7 - Missed a glorious chance to double Napoli’s lead moments before Genoa’s equaliser. Struggled in the first half but looked more dangerous after the break, when he whipped a few testing crosses in.
 
Allan – 7 – Made a couple of good driving runs from deep and used the ball well, but still someway short of his best form.
 
Fabian – 6.5 – Looked a yard off the pace tonight, he almost gifted Genoa the lead with a sloppy backpass, and didn’t dictate the tempo in the same way as we have seen him do recently.
 
Zielinski – 6 – Struggled to get into the game out on the left flank and as a result tended to drift inside. Found himself in good positions a few times but his decision making was poor.
 
Mertens – 7.5 – Napoli’s best player on the night and he seems to be returning to form in recent weeks. Opened the scoring with a lovely strike from outside the box, and made a great chance for Callejon too.
 
Milik – 6.5 – Looked a threat early on, should have scored with two headers, one that he directed straight at Radu from six yards, and the other he couldn’t find the target.
 
Insigne (67’) – 6.5 – Added a bit of dynamism to the Napoli attack when he was introduced but didn’t do enough to break the deadlock on his return from injury.
 
Rui (77’) – 6 – Didn’t impact the game in any meaningful way.
 
Ounas (87’) – 6.5 – Almost won it right at the end when he cut inside and shot but he couldn’t beat Radu.