Napoli and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final at the Stadio San Paolo this evening.
The hosts took the lead through David Lopez five minutes into the second half to begin a dominant period, but their failure to add a second was punished when Yevhen Seleznyov swept home an equaliser 10 minutes from time.
Here, Sports Mole looks at who impressed during an intriguing 90 minutes in Naples.
© Getty Images
NAPOLI
Goal
Mario Andujar: Had very little to do aside from one routine save to deny Kankava in the first half. Nothing he could have done about the late equaliser, which came from an offside position. (6/10)
Defence
Christian Maggio: Played more like a right-winger throughout, posing an attacking threat and, just as importantly, keeping the dangerous Konoplyanka pinned back. (7/10)
Raul Albiol: Had the beating of Kalinic, but couldn't prevent Seleznyov from scoring with his first touch. The blame for that goal lies with the linesman rather than the Napoli defence, though. (7/10)
Miguel Britos: Didn't have much to do defensively as Napoli dominated possession for the vast majority of the match. Started many attacks from the back with Albiol. (7/10)
Faouzi Ghoulam: Like Maggio on the other flank, spent most of his time in the opposition half. His crosses from the left were a little hit and miss, though, while the Dnipro equaliser came from his side. (6/10)
Midfield
Jorginho: Battled away in the middle of the park, helping Napoli to keep possession and, when required, nipping most of the Dnipro attacks in the bud. This wasn't really the type of match a defensive midfielder shines in, though. (6/10)
David Lopez: Got his first goal for the club in timely fashion, nodding home from a corner five minutes into the second half. Was tidy in possession throughout too. (7/10)
Jose Callejon: Got into a number of good positions, but more often than not failed to take advantage of them. Did not have as big an impact on the match as he should have done. (6/10)
Marek Hamsik: Pulled the strings in the second half as Napoli continually cut through the previously stubborn Dnipro defence. Should have a couple of assists to his name at least, but Higuain couldn't convert. (8/10)
Lorenzo Insigne: Clipped the post with a fine early effort and was one of the Napoli players who looked capable of finding a breakthrough. Also picked up the assist with a good corner for Lopez to nod home. (7/10)
Attack
Gonzalo Higuain: The only thing missing from his second-half display was a goal. He tore the Dnipro defence apart with his movement and had at least four golden chances, but he could not find a way past Boyko. It was usually good goalkeeping as opposed to poor finishing, but Higuain probably should have put this tie to bed already. (7/10)
Substitutes
Walter Gargano: Replaced the goalscorer with just under 20 minutes remaining and did much the same job in the middle of the park. (6/10)
Manolo Gabbiadini: Left on the bench despite his good recent scoring form and couldn't make a difference during his 13-minute cameo. (6/10)
Dries Mertens: Brought on in the immediate aftermath of the equaliser but did not have time to turn the match back in Napoli's favour. (6/10)
© Getty Images
DNIPRO
Goal
Denis Boyko: The man of the match. Made a string of crucial saves to deny Higuain in the second half, keeping his side in the tie. Napoli could have had five or six without him in such good form. (8/10)
Defence
Artem Fedetskiy: Provided the assist for the equaliser and, while Seleznyov was offside, the delivery was a beauty. Rarely caught out defensively either. (7/10)
Douglas: Magnificent in the first half as he cleared everything that came his way. Was run ragged by Higuain for much of the second, but ultimately did enough to prevent Napoli from extending their lead - with a little help from Boyko. (7/10)
Evgeniy Cheberyachko: Sturdy alongside Douglas as Dnipro put in a fine first-half defensive performance. Simply could not deal with Higuain after the break, though. (6/10)
Leo Matos: Limited the influence of Callejon well, which is all that could have been asked of him considering Dnipro's lack of attacking intent tonight. (6/10)
Midfield
Jaba Kankava: Forced to chase shadows for much of the match but was part of a good defensive performance in the first half. Struggled to shackle Hamsik after the break, though. (6/10)
Valeriy Fedorchuk: Another who provided his defence with some extra cover during the opening 45 minutes before Napoli stepped things up a gear in the second half. (6/10)
Valeriy Luchkevych: Virtually anonymous in an attacking sense, doing most of his work inside his own half. That was his job tonight, and he stuck to it. (5/10)
Ruslan Rotan: For a side who spend most of their time defending, set pieces are particularly important. Rotan's delivery in such scenarios was consistently disappointing, while he failed to offer Kalinic sufficient support going forward. (5/10)
Yevhen Konoplyanka: Showed one or two glimpses of his undoubted talent, but they were few and far between. Spent most of his time defending and was unable to showcase just how good he is. (5/10)
Attack
Nikola Kalinic: Battled away up front, but it was a thankless task this evening. He had very little service or support and, while he did about as well as can be expected, it still wasn't good enough. (5/10)
Substitutes
Bruno Gama: Came on just before the hour and provided more of an attacking threat than Luchkevych. (6/10)
Roman Bezus: An attacking change as Dnipro began to get a fraction more adventurous towards the end, but played no part in the equaliser. (6/10)
Yevhen Seleznyov: Replaced Kalinic in the 80th minute and within 60 seconds had drawn his side level with his first touch. Lucky not to be flagged for offside, but showed good attacking instincts to get in the right position. (7/10)
No Data Analysis info
