Europa League: Napoli draws but qualifies first

For the first time in the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, Napoli qualifies for the round of 32 of the Europa League and closes the group in first place in the standings. What was a real play-off with Real Sociedad ends with a draw (1-1) that the Spaniards grab only in injury time. It was clear on the eve that the match was not going to be the simplest and on the other hand it was enough to take a look at the position in the league occupied by Alguacil's team. Real Sociedad are second behind Atletico Madrid and also show extremely significant numbers that have marked their season so far both in the league and in the European competition itself. It therefore ends 1-1 but the effort for the home team is not insignificant. The start of the match is thrilling for Napoli. Real Sociedad is placed in the midfield of the Azzurri and with the systematic aggression on the restart of the action from Ospina, takes possession of the trocar field and sends the opponents haywire. In the first 20 'the Spaniards create two or three scoring chances, one of which, failed with a lopsided shot in front of Portu's empty goal, is truly sensational. Naples slowly manages to find countermeasures to the opponent, especially by moving a few meters further behind the range of Zielinski, but also Insigne and Lozano and leaving only Mertens to permanently preside over the opposing half. The Azzurri are close to scoring the advantage with Bakayoko whose scrum shot touches the post and find the goal of the advantage in the 34th minute from a corner kick beaten by Mertens. Merino heads back into the small area and the ball ends up on the edge of the penalty area to Zielinski who sends the ball into the back of the net with a powerful shot. In the second half the domination of the Real Sociedad becomes even more evident. Merino touches the equalizer with a shot that ends just on the bottom while Napoli, more and more huddled in their own half, rely exclusively on the counterattack. Real Sociedad has the merit of believing in it all the way and manages to get back to the result when everything seemed lost. Willian Josè thinks about throwing the ball into the net, taking advantage of a cross from the left that hits Ghoulam's back and offers him an opportunity that the Brazilian does not waste. In the last minutes of injury time there is a sort of non-play of the two teams, both satisfied with qualifying for the round of 32 which before the start of the match were not discounted for anyone.