Milan, Nov 10: Napoli is struggling to find goals without Kevin De Bruyne.
Antonio Conte’s side lost 2-0 at Bologna on Sunday as it failed to score for a third successive match despite its opponent playing with a teenage, third-choice goalkeeper.
The defeat also saw Napoli lose top spot in Serie A as it was leapfrogged by Roma and Inter Milan. Inter beat Lazio 2-0 and Roma also defeated Udinese 2-0.
The top five are separated by just three points, with Napoli and AC Milan two points below the new leaders and one above Bologna.De Bruyne was injured in a 3-1 win over Inter last month and will likely be out until the new year. Napoli managed a 1-0 win at Lecce in its first match without the former Manchester City midfielder but followed that up with goalless draws against Como and then Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.After Milan’s draw at Parma the previous day, Napoli knew it could move clear at the top of Serie A with a win.And its chances appeared to grow when Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski had to go off in the eighth minute with a muscle injury and the 17-year-old Massimo Pessina was handed his senior debut.
However, Napoli never really tested the ‘keeper and Bologna broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half despite losing another player – Jonathan Rowe – to injury.
His replacement, Nicolò Cambiaghi, set up the opener as he got down the left and then rolled the ball across for Thijs Dallinga to slot in at the near post.Bologna doubled its lead in the 66th minute with Colombia defender Jhon Lucumí heading in a cross for his first Serie A goal. (PTI)
