Como 2-1 Napoli: Fabregas dents Conte´s Serie A title hopes

Napoli spurned the chance to return to the top of Serie A after suffering a stunning 2-1 loss against Como.

With title rivals Inter having won on Saturday, the pressure was on Antonio Conte’s team to get the three points required to return to the summit at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Sunday.

Instead, Napoli’s winless streak in the league extended to four matches as Assane Diao thumped in a second-half winner for the hosts – coached by Cesc Fabregas – on the banks of Lake Como.

Napoli got off to a nightmare start when Kosovan centre-back Amir Rrahmani gifted the lead to Como in the seventh minute by sending Matteo Politano’s throw-in into his own net, with goalkeeper Alex Meret well off his line.

Como’s lead lasted only seven minutes, though, as Giacomo Raspadori capitalised on some sloppy defending to slot beyond Jean Butez.

Yet with the match ebbing towards a draw, Diao drilled in from the edge of the area after taking in Nico Paz’s pass, securing a memorable victory for 13th-place Como.

These two…. ‍pic.twitter.com/VHmyUT6Qo4

— Como1907 (@Como_1907) February 23, 2025

Data Debrief: A win to savour

This was just Como’s second win over Napoli in Serie A, with their previous such victory coming way back in November 1952.

Como had faced Napoli 18 times since then in Italy’s top flight, losing on 14 occasions and drawing the other four matches.

Fabregas’ team did not create much – indeed, Como attempted only two shots during the first half, and they finished with an expected goals value of 0.56.

Napoli, though, were far from at their best, creating just 1.09 xG, while forward Romelu Lukaku managed just eight touches and one shot before he was taken off just after the hour.

Diao settled the contest, scoring for a third league match running for the first time in his top-flight career, as Como backed up last week’s impressive victory over Fiorentina with an even better result.