Sampdoria vs. Napoli: Winners and Losers from Serie A Game
Duvan Zapata scored late in second-half stoppage time as 10-man Napoli came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw away to Sampdoria on Monday.
Following a breathless first half Eder opened the scoring with a stunning strike in the 57th minute, and when Partenopei defender Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off in the 84th it looked as though the hosts were headed for the three points.
But a nice overlap between Dries Mertens and Faouzi Ghoulam resulted in a searching cross from the left that Zapata was able to head into the back of the net in the 92nd minute.
Overall, there was a handful of performances that caught the eye in Genova as well as one or two that were rather less impressive.
Following are the individual winners and losers from the encounter.
Winner: Faouzi Ghoulam, Who Repaid His Manager's Faith
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More than a few eyebrows went up when the team sheets came out at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Monday.
Instead of Dries Mertens' name in the starting 11 for Napoli was that of Faouzi Ghoulam, and the winger repaid manager Rafael Benitez's faith with a sparkling performance.
Although it took the 23-year-old some time to get comfortable in Genova, in the end the Algeria international was a true difference-maker.
Late in second-half stoppage time he overlapped nicely with Dries Mertens before delivering a cross into the Sampdoria goalmouth that Duvan Zapata did well to head home.
Loser: Sinisa Mihajlovic, Whose Substitutions Were Questionable
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In the 79th minute and with his side nursing a one-goal lead on Napoli, Sampdoria manager Sinisa Mihajlovic opted to withdraw a midfielder in favour of a striker.
Although Luca Rizzo had faded somewhat after an all-action first half, it might not have been the best of decisions to replace him with Manolo Gabbiadini.
Napoli move the ball downfield as quickly as any team in Serie A, and the lack of an additional midfield presence was partially to blame for the guests' late equaliser.
"Audacious from Mihajlovic: leading 1-0 he puts a striker on for a midfielder," was how Football Italia's Twitter account described the move.
Winner: Angelo Palombo, Who Did Just About Everything for Sampdoria
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Longtime Sampdoria midfielder Angelo Palombo was a key contributor in his side's 1-1 draw at home to Napoli.
In addition to driving play forward through much of the first half and the early part of the second, the 33-year-old also collapsed into a deep position to help absorb the opposition pressure when necessary.
Over the course of the 90 minutes Palombo won 67 percent of his aerial duels and crucially made three interceptions in his own half of the park, per Squawka.
Loser: Pedro Obiang, Who Lasted Just 45 Minutes
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Sampdoria manager Sinisa Mihajlovic won't have wanted to withdraw Pedro Obiang at the break.
The hosts had ended the first half on the front foot, and Obiang had been part of that.
But the Spaniard's series of fouls on Gokhan Inler left him on a booking and walking a fine line by the half-time whistle, and just to be safe his manager inserted Alfred Duncan in his place.
The 21-year-old Duncan had his moments when Sampdoria ventured downfield, but he seemed to struggle when Napoli attacked at pace.
Winner: Eder, Who Opened the Scoring with a Golazo
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Eder's opening goal would have been a worthy winner.
After controlling a Matias Silvestre pass, the Brazilian moved the ball from his left foot to his right before hitting a sparkling finish that beat Rafael Cabral to the near corner.
As BT Sport commentator James Horncastle remarked on Twitter, the 28-year-old had come up big "like he did against Milan and Fiorentina."
Loser: Gonzalo Higuain, Who Failed to Match Maradona's Record
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Gonzalo Higuain came into Monday's encounter with a chance to score in a sixth straight outing—an accomplishment that would have matched Diego Maradona's club record for goals in successive matches.
The Argentina international had his best chance to equal his countryman's mark when, midway through the first half, he had the ball snatched from his feet by Sampdoria goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
Overall, Higuain produced six shots in Genova but only managed to hit the target twice.
He remains joint-third in Serie A goalscoring this season, with only Carlos Tevez and team-mate Jose Callejon having tallied more often.
