Soccer Football - Serie A - Napoli v Monza - Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples, Italy - December 29, 2023 Napoli's Nikita Contini, Alessio Zerbin, Giacomo Raspadori and Stanislav Lobotka react after the match REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
NAPLES, Italy (Reuters) -Napoli's pursuit of a top-four spot took a hit as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Monza, who missed a penalty, after the hosts spurned several chances in their Serie A clash on Friday.
Monza had the opportunity to grab the win from the spot following a handball by Juan Jesus but Matteo Pessina's tame effort in the 68th minute was easily saved by Alex Meret.
The draw leaves Napoli in seventh place with 28 points, five points off the top four places and 16 adrift of leaders Inter Milan, who visit Genoa later on Friday. Monza are 11th on 22.
Fiorentina moved up to fourth after a goal by Luca Ranieri in the 83rd minute secured a 1-0 home win over Torino.
"I am not worried by the table, my focus is on getting my lads to play well and today that is what they did," Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri told DAZN. "The only regret is that we failed to score a goal, but we deserved to win 2-0 or 3-0."
Napoli missed the finishing of the suspended Victor Osimhen who was sent off in their 2-0 loss at AS Roma last weekend.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock shortly before halftime with a close-angle volley, but Monza's Michele Di Gregorio made a superb reaction save.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia then struck a shot from just outside the box that missed the post by inches.
He had another chance early in the second half in a one-on-one with Di Gregorio, who saved the attempt with his legs.
At the end frustration boiled over for Mazzarri, leading to his dismissal following an altercation, while Monza coach Raffaele Palladino also received a red card in stoppage time for comments made to the referee.
"At one point, it looked like a game of rugby more than football," Mazzarri said. "I went over to the referee and told him that Kvara (Kvaratskhelia) was not allowed to play because he was systematically fouled. The rules have to be applied."
Monza's unused substitute, Mirko Maric, was shown a red card deep into stoppage time, seemingly for kicking a ball away.
Napoli start the New Year with a visit to Torino on Jan. 7.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; editing by Ken Ferris)
