Napoli's title hopes in Serie A take a hit with a 0-0 draw against Parma, Inter beats Lecce 1-0

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Inter Milan's Francesco Pio Esposito celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Lecce in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Napoli's Rasmus Hojlund, center, and Parma's Mandela Keita, right, in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Parma, in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP) — Inter Milan's Francesco Pio Esposito celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Lecce in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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2:42 PM on Wednesday, January 14

By DANIELLA MATAR

MILAN (AP) — A frustrating evening for Napoli saw it held to a 0-0 draw at home by lowly Parma as the defending champion lost more ground in the title race Wednesday.

The result saw third-placed Napoli slip six points behind Serie A leader Inter Milan, which ground out a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Lecce.

Inter could see its lead cut back to three points if AC Milan wins at Como on Thursday.

Parma, which had lost only one of its past four matches, continued to climb away from danger — moving to eight points above the relegation zone.

Napoli had drawn its past two matches 2-2, including Sunday’s title showdown against Inter Milan — allowing it to be caught in third place by Roma and Juventus.

Antonio Conte had been sent off at San Siro and began his two-match touchline ban on Wednesday.

Napoli thought it had taken an early lead against Parma but Scott McTominay’s strike was ruled out on video review as teammate Pasquale Mazzocchi was fractionally offside in the build-up.

Parma goalkeeper Filippo Rinaldi was making his senior debut and he pulled off a sensational save in the 27th minute to parry a bullet header from Alessandro Buongiorno at point-blank range.

Rinaldi made a number of other saves as a resolute Parma defense managed to fend off a fierce Napoli assault.

The 23-year-old Rinaldi was named player of the match.

One of the few positive notes for Napoli was the appearance of David Neres as a second-half substitute after he missed the past couple of matches with an ankle sprain. However, the Brazilian was clearly not fully fit and was taken off shortly before fulltime.

Narrow win

It was far from pretty at times but Inter took what could prove to be significant step toward the scudetto.

Substitute Pio Esposito scored the only goal of a mediocre match in the 78th minute.

A ball was floated into the box and Esposito flicked it on for Lautaro Martínez — who had initially been rested but was brought on late with Inter badly needing firepower.

Lautaro's shot was parried but Esposito smashed home the rebound. The 20-year-old celebrated by showing off his muscles.

Lecce remained just three points above the drop zone.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer