Politano gives Napoli last-gasp win after Koulibaly's rescue act

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:15 am

Napoli forward Matteo Politano scored deep into stoppage time to give them a 2-1 win at home to Udinese on Sunday, minutes after defender Kalidou Koulibaly had rescued the hosts with a dramatic goal-line clearance.

Udinese forward Rodrigo De Paul looked set to score in the 85th minute when the ball ran loose to him with only goalkeeper David Ospina to beat. He dinked it over the Colombian but Koulibaly managed to get his knee to it and deflect it onto the crossbar.

Stream Serie A games on ESPN+ 

Instead, Politano curled in the winner for Napoli, his first goal for the club, in the 95th minute.

De Paul gave Udinese the lead in the 22nd minute after the Napoli defence failed to cut out Marvin Zeegelaar's low cross and the Argentine drove the ball in from the edge of the area.

Napoli lost forward Dries Mertens to injury but his replacement Arkadiusz Milik scored almost immediately after coming on.

Jose Callejon miskicked from Lorenzo Insigne's cross but Fabian Ruiz sent the ball back into the area and Milik prodded it home in the 31st minute, the Pole's first touch of the game.

Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski's shot was tipped onto the underside of the bar by Juan Musso and bounced out in the second half while Ospina made a brilliant one-handed save from Kevin Lasagna at the other end.

Napoli climbed to sixth with 56 points, ahead of AC Milan on goal difference, while Udinese are 16th with 36, but with a seven-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone.