Amir Rrahmani rescued Napoli right at the death as the reigning Serie A champions laboured to fight back and beat bottom side Salernitana 2-1 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Walter Mazzarri’s team, who had lost four of their last six matches including last weekend’s 3-0 reverse at Torino, were looking for a first home win in seven attempts, such is the extent of their decline since claiming the Scudetto under Luciano Spalletti last season.
Matteo Politano’s penalty – the club’s first league goal since December 16 – had spared their blushes before half-time after Antonio Candreva heaped more woe on the underperforming Azzurri with his first-half opener.
Mazzarri’s men were frustrated in their bid to complete the comeback, with last term’s star man Khvicha Kvaratskhelia doing his best to grab a second-half winner – seemingly to no avail.
That honour eventually fell to Rrahmani as, six minutes into second-half stoppage time, the Kosovan centre-back capitalised on a defensive mix-up to fire Napoli up to sixth place in the table.
True to recent form, the Partenopei struggled from the get-go. Norbert Gyomber tried to catch out the home defence with a snapshot from distance in the 12th minute, but Pierluigi Gollini was alert to the danger and pushed the ball around a post.
Loum Tchaouna soon let rip with his left boot after being put through by Candreva, but again Gollini made the block.
Just before the half-hour mark Candreva fired Salernitana ahead in superb fashion. Domagoj Bradaric set him up before he put Politano on the ground and then beat Gollini with a fine finish.
Napoli took the hint and tried hard to bite back before the break, with Guillermo Ochoa keeping out Giovanni Simeone, Politano missing the mark from an excellent position and Gianluca Gaetano trying his luck from distance only for Salernitana’s Mexican goalkeeper to watch it sail wide.
Politano did level four minutes into stoppage time, though. Federico Fazio fouled Simeone in the Salernitana box and the Italy winger made no mistake from the penalty spot.
Jens Cajuste enjoyed a double chance to turn the game in Napoli’s favour when play resumed; first the Swede headed just wide from a corner, then he smashed off-target with his right foot with Ochoa beaten.
Kvaratskhelia forced a frantic save from Ochoa in the 72nd minute as Napoli pushed harder for the win, with the Georgian coming even closer in the last 10 as he arrived from the left flank to unleash a rocket that took a deflection off Gyomber and shaved paint off a post as it went out.
Ochoa continued to fight fires, next repelling Giacomo Raspadori, but right at the death he and Fazio would make a hash of clearing a cross, allowing Rrahmani to ping in a dramatic winner.
'It's here to stay' – Postecoglou jokes he's moving to Sweden to escape VAR
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has joked he may move to Sweden in order to escape VAR, claiming it has changed English football for the worse.
Plans to introduce VAR to the Swedish Allsvenskan – the country's top tier – have been dropped amid fierce opposition from clubs and supporters.
The use of VAR in the Premier League has been a major talking point throughout the season, with a number of high-profile controversies undermining fan support for the technology.
Last week, Mauricio Pochettino said VAR had "damaged" the image of English football after Axel Disasi had a potential stoppage-time winner chalked off during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
Ahead of Thursday's meeting with Pochettino's Blues, Postecoglou was asked whether English clubs might follow the lead of their Swedish counterparts.
"I'm moving there. I don't have a job, I'm just moving there," Postecoglou joked, before adding: "Yeah, it's here to stay, absolutely. It's not going away.
"I'd change a hell of a lot on it, but I've said that before. I think it's changed the game materially, which I don't think was the intention when it was brought in."
Postecoglou also seemed to suggest the application of VAR in England has been more troublesome than elsewhere, saying it had worked "seamlessly" in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final draw between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
"I watched the Champions League last night like everyone else, and if you hadn't told me VAR was part of the game I wouldn't have known," Postecoglou added.
"I'm sure they had decisions to make but it seemed to work pretty seamlessly.
"Like I said, we're trying to pick the bones out of every little thing that happens in a football game at the moment – whether that's the referee or any other part.
"I don't like it, it changes the game, it changes the game experience whether you're involved or not as an active spectator. Hopefully they'll find the right sort of ground for it to work."
De Rossi 'can do great things' at Roma, says former team-mate Cafu
Cafu admits he did not see former team-mate Daniele De Rossi becoming a head coach, but hopes the Roma boss can "do great things" with the Giallorossi.
The former midfielder replaced Jose Mourinho in the Stadio Olimpico dugout in January on a deal until the end of the season, and has overseen nine victories in 14 Serie A games - only losing to newly crowned champions Inter and fourth-place Bologna.
De Rossi's glittering career at Roma as a player, which brought over 600 appearances across an 18-year period, was in its infancy when he briefly played alongside Cafu for the Giallorossi during the early 2000s.
The former Brazil captain, who played 217 times between 1997 and 2003, helped the club win the Scudetto under Fabio Capello in the 2000-01 season, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2012.
And the 53-year-old has been delighted by the strides De Rossi has made since their playing days.
"I know him well. He's that kid who used to play with us, who we saw grow up at Roma," Cafu told Stats Perform. "Now, he has become the boss of one of the most important teams in the world and in Italy, which is Roma.
"Things change a lot in football. He seemed to be a shy and calm guy, and yet he grew up, becoming this really great coach. We have to wish him good luck. I hope he can do great things.
"I am very happy when I see that my team-mates are doing well, working as coaches, deputy coaches, athletic trainers. It is always very pleasing for me to see that they have grown a lot in the world of football.
"It is even more pleasing to see that kid grow up, a kid that now has become a coach, a great one; I am very happy."
De Rossi is also overseeing another impressive European campaign for Roma, who were Europa League runners-up to Sevilla last term and back in the semi-finals of this season's competition.
The Giallorossi are gearing up for a mouth-watering showdown with newly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in all competitions.
"It's always hard to say when you're talking about two great teams," Cafu added. "Both Bayer and Roma are playing really well. I hope Roma can play a great game and get as far as they can."
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
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