European football: Napoli hold off Lazio in fiery contest with three red cards

2 days ago 11

First-half goals from Leonardo Spinazzola and Amir Rrahmani helped Napoli claim a 2-0 victory at Lazio on Sunday in a heated contest that featured three red cards.

Victory moves Napoli back to one point behind Serie A leaders Milan, who won 1-0 at Cagliari on Friday. Inter sit third but can reclaim top spot with victory at home to Bologna later on Sunday.

Despite being hampered by the absence of a number of injured players, including Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Billy Gilmour, Napoli appeared largely in control as they patiently built their attacks. The visitors went ahead when Matteo Politano’s teasing cross was volleyed home at the far post by Spinazzola.

Antonio Conte’s side underlined their dominance in the 32nd minute when Politano’s free kick was floated into the box and Rrahmani headed into the bottom corner to double their lead. Napoli came close to stretching their advantage just minutes later when Eljif Elmas’ header crashed against the crossbar.

Napoli’s injury concerns deepened in the second half when David Neres was seen limping off. The stoppage sparked a brief flashpoint between the two sides, ending with bookings for Rrahmani and Lazio’s Tijjani Noslin – who was then shown a second yellow card for a foul on Alessandro Buongiorno.

Leonardo Spinazzola celebrates with Scott McTominay after opening the scoring.

Tempers flared again just before full-time as Lazio’s Adam Marusic and Napoli’s Pasquale Mazzocchi became embroiled in a heated confrontation, prompting Conte to intervene in an attempt to separate the pair. Both players were subsequently shown red cards, with no action taken against the Napoli head coach.

“I have to congratulate the lads, playing with this level of technical ability and physical strength without letting Lazio play is not easy,” Conte told Dazn after the game. “We played at a very high level of quality.”

In La Liga, Sevilla slipped to a 3-0 home defeat against struggling Levante. Iker Losada finished a flowing team move to put the visitors in front at half-time, before Carlos Espi doubled their lead in the 65th minute. The hosts’ misery was compounded in stoppage time as Isaac Romero missed a penalty before Carlos Alvarez added a third for Levante, who climb off the foot of the table.

Elsewhere in Spain, Real Madrid badly need to beat Real Betis at home, after Barcelona’s 2-0 win at Espanyol on Saturday stretched their overnight lead to seven points. Fourth-placed Atlético Madrid visit Real Sociedad in the late game.

The big match in Ligue 1 is the first top-flight derby in the French capital for 36 years, when Paris FC visit Paris Saint-Germain. Paris FC split from PSG in 1972, two years after a merger, and played mainly in the lower divisions. After outside investment, including from Red Bull, they reached Ligue 1 again in 2025 and agreed a deal to move into the Stade Jean-Bouin, the home of rugby union’s Stade Français – and only 44 metres from PSG’s Parc des Princes.