SSC Napoli missed the opportunity to climb to second place in Serie A after being held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Parma at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. It marked the first goalless stalemate between the two sides since December 2000 and represented a costly slip in the title race for Antonio Conte’s men.

Buoyed by a spirited 2-2 comeback draw against leaders Inter Milan at the weekend, Napoli began confidently and thought they had taken an early lead. Scott McTominay appeared to have bundled the ball over the line in the 11th minute following a goalmouth scramble, but the midfielder’s effort was ruled out for offside.

The hosts continued to apply pressure, going close again just before the half-hour mark when Alessandro Buongiorno’s powerful header was smartly repelled by Parma goalkeeper Filippo Rinaldi. Unbeaten in their previous four meetings with the visitors (W3, D1), Napoli maintained their attacking momentum as half-time approached, yet Rinaldi was once more equal to the task, producing a fine save to deny Rasmus Højlund’s low drive.

Clear chances were at a premium thereafter. Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Matteo Politano both fired off target for the Partenopei, while at the opposite end Jacob Ondrejka tested Vanja Milinković-Savić with a long-range effort that was comfortably dealt with.

Parma, who arrived in Naples unbeaten in their last four away league matches (W3, D1), grew in confidence after the interval and restricted Napoli’s attacking influence. In response, Conte introduced David Neres, Eljif Elmas and Leonardo Spinazzola in a triple substitution before the hour mark, but the changes failed to spark a breakthrough.

Di Lorenzo headed over from close range, McTominay shot straight at Rinaldi, and Stanislav Lobotka’s late attempt lacked the power to trouble the Parma goalkeeper, as the visitors’ defence stood firm to earn a hard-fought point.

Despite dropping valuable ground in the title race, Napoli move level on points with second-placed AC Milan and extend their unbeaten home run in Serie A to 20 matches (W14, D6).