17 shots, 58% possession and a point apiece for Fiorentina and Napoli

Fiorentina drew 1-1 with Napoli at Stadio Artemio Franchi on Sunday, leaving both sides with a point from Serie A’s fifth round. Napoli led at half-time through Billy Gilmour, but Álex Jiménez equalised six minutes after the restart. The result moved Fiorentina to four points and Napoli to seven after four matches in the current standings.

Gilmour gives Napoli the lead

Napoli made their greater share of possession count in the 23rd minute. Billy Gilmour finished a move assisted by M. Politano to put Massimiliano Allegri’s 4-2-3-1 ahead. Fiorentina responded with pressure before the interval, but Napoli retained the advantage at the break. F. Mastantuono was booked for Fiorentina in the 42nd minute.

Jiménez restores parity

Paolo Vanoli changed Fiorentina’s personnel at half-time, sending V. Valdepenas on for Viery. The adjustment was followed quickly by the equaliser: Álex Jiménez scored in the 51st minute after receiving the assist from C. Ndour. Napoli later introduced L. Lucca and David Neres for R. Hojlund and N. Lang, while Fiorentina brought on Pote and Beto. C. Favasuli replaced M. Politano in the 73rd minute.

Napoli had the ball, Fiorentina had more attempts

The statistics showed a split contest. Napoli controlled 58% possession and completed 483 passes at an 89% accuracy rate, compared with Fiorentina’s 42% and 325 accurate passes from 389 attempts. However, Fiorentina recorded 17 total shots to Napoli’s 12. Both teams managed four shots on target, while the expected-goals figures favoured Napoli 1.40 to 0.94. The equal score therefore reflected Fiorentina’s ability to create more attempts despite spending less time in possession.

Discipline and standout displays

Fiorentina collected all three yellow cards. L. Ranieri was booked in the 62nd minute and D. de Gea followed in the 83rd, while Napoli avoided a caution. De Gea was the joint-highest-rated player, earning an 8.0 after making three saves in 94 minutes. Gilmour matched that rating, contributing his goal, one shot on target and one tackle for Napoli. Vanja Milinković-Savić also made three saves and received a 7.3 rating.

A point for teams seeking consistency

Fiorentina entered the match ranked 16th with one win and three defeats, while Napoli were 10th after two wins and two losses. Their recent records had both been uneven, with Fiorentina’s previous four results reading loss, loss, loss, win and Napoli’s win, loss, loss, win. The draw gave Fiorentina a fourth point and Napoli a seventh, without separating the teams’ contrasting control and chance-creation figures.