Football Italia
·16 March 2025
Serie A | Venezia 0-0 Napoli – Conte misses chance to go top

Football Italia
·16 March 2025
Antonio Conte and Napoli missed an opportunity to go top of the Serie A standings after a 0-0 draw away against Venezia in Sunday’s early kick-off slot, which means that Inter are still leading the division ahead of their top-of-the-table clash against Atalanta later in the evening.
Conte named an unchanged Napoli line-up for today’s clash following the 2-1 Serie A victory over Fiorentina last weekend, with Giacomo Raspadori partnering Romelu Lukaku up front, with Billy Gilmour, Stanislav Lobotka and Scott McTominay in midfield
VENICE, ITALY – MARCH 16: Fali Cande of Venezia defends against Romelu Lukaku of Napoli during the Serie A match between Venezia and Napoli at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo on March 16, 2025 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)
Giacomo Raspadori hit the woodwork five minutes in, capitalising on a deflected Giovanni Di Lorenzo cross in to bend a low effort off the upright.
It was Venezia, however, who had the larger share of the game’s early shots. Mikael Ellertsson caused issues down Venezia’s left flank with a few dangerous deliveries, while Daniel Fila drew the first save out of Alex Meret a quarter of an hour in.
Like it was at the start, there were a flurry of chances towards the end of the first period. Kike Perez drew a save from Alex Meret, which then required a goal-line clearance from Amir Rrahmani after Fila’s follow-up.
Lukaku came closer than anybody with a downward header destined for the bottom corner in the 45th, requiring a goal-denying save from Radu on the line to keep the scores level heading into the break.
Radu 🤯🤯#VeneziaNapoli pic.twitter.com/aMMFoKjPI2 — Lega Serie A (@SerieA) March 16, 2025
Napoli spent large spells of the early second half stages in the Venezia half and won themselves plenty of corners and free-kicks, but struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities of their own despite their dominance in possession.
An injury to Amir Rrahmani caused a halt to Napoli’s momentum with 15 minutes left to go. It also brought a quadruple substitution, as Juan Jesus, Matias Olivera, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Noah Okafor were all introduced at the same time.
Giovanni Simeone, on as a late replacement for Lukaku, missed a glorious opportunity to win it three minutes into injury time, blazing over from 10 yards out after Okafor’s inch-perfect delivery from the left flank.
Sunday’s result leaves Napoli in second place in the Serie A table, level on points with Inter, who still have to play against third-placed Atalanta later in the evening.