Napoli 3–3 Roma: A Night at the Maradona That Refused to Be Settled

Napoli 3–3 Roma: A Night at the Maradona That Refused to Be Settled

Serie A – Matchday 8 | Saturday, 24 October 2026 | Stadio Diego Armando Maradona

Match Card

Six goals, two comebacks and an 89th-minute equaliser. Napoli and Roma produced one of the wildest nights of the Serie A season, one in which the Maradona crowd twice believed the three points were secured, only to watch Roma pull them away on both occasions.

Match Story

Frank Anguissa opened the scoring in the 28th minute, sending Napoli into the break with a lead that reflected their control of the tempo. Early in the second half, Scott McTominay doubled the advantage on 48 minutes, and at 2–0 with more than forty minutes left, the contest looked settled.

Roma refused to follow the script. Matías Soulé pulled one back on 69 minutes, and just five minutes later Leonardo Balerdi levelled at 2–2, turning celebration into anxiety inside the stadium.

McTominay stepped up again on 83 minutes with his second of the night, restoring Napoli’s lead at 3–2. But Balerdi had the final word in the 89th minute, striking again to seal a draw that felt like victory for Roma and defeat for Napoli.

Turning Point

Soulé’s goal on 69 minutes was the real hinge. Before it, Napoli were managing the game with confidence; after it, that confidence collapsed within five minutes. The first equaliser came less from sustained pressure than from defensive disorder under shock.

Player of the Match

Scott McTominay (Napoli) – Two goals at two decisive moments: one to extend the lead, one to reclaim it. The Scottish midfielder continues to establish himself as a big-occasion player, though he left the pitch without the reward his performance deserved.

Special mention: Leonardo Balerdi (Roma) – A defender scoring twice in the decisive quarter-hour, turning a lost game into a valuable away point.

Napoli proved they can build a lead, and twice failed to protect one. Conceding three goals in the final twenty minutes, two of them shortly after going ahead, raises serious questions about game management and the team’s balance when it sits deeper.

Roma, by contrast, delivered a lesson in mental resilience. Two goals down away from home, they did not retreat. They made the most of set pieces and transitional moments, and found an attacking answer in their own defender when others came up short.

A draw with two opposite flavours: a point Roma are entitled to celebrate, and two points dropped that Napoli will dwell on for some time. In Serie A, matches are not won by taking the lead, but by guarding it until the final whistle.

Dr. Talal Othman, General Manager — GCC Sport