Napoli had quickly opened the scoring on a penalty from Lorenzo Insigne (11th) but was logically joined by a more biting Roma in the last half hour, rewarded by the equalizer from Stephan El Shaarawy (90 + 1st).
Insigne appeared in tears at the end of the match: with this draw, following the defeat already at home against Fiorentina (2-3), his Napoli lost further ground on AC Milan and Inter, both winners on Friday .
The leaders rossoneri are now four lengths and the dolphins nerazzuri two, still with a game in hand.
"There is a bit of disappointment," admitted Luciano Spalletti on DAZN.
Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti during the Serie A match at home against Roma on April 18, 2022 Andreas SOLARO AFP
"We did not manage to manage the ball as I had hoped at the end of the match, we took a largely avoidable goal", regretted the Neapolitan coach.
La Roma (5th), a specialist in late-game goals, extended their unbeaten streak in the league (twelve games).
Mourinho furious at refereeing
But she can harbor some regrets for not having reopened the debate for fourth qualifying place for the Champions League: the Wolf remains five points behind Juve (4th), hung on Saturday by Bologna (1-1).
Naples striker Lorenzo Insigne celebrates the opener against AS Roma in serie A on April 18, 2022 in Naples Andreas SOLARO AFP
Insigne's penalty, awarded after intervention by the VAR for a foul by Roger Ibanez on Hirving Lozano, has long seemed sufficient for Napoli in a tactical match.
Opportunities were rare for an hour for Naples like Roma, who nevertheless hit the bar on a deflected free kick from captain Lorenzo Pellegrini (39th).
Nicolo Zaniolo, feared after his three goals against Bodo / Glimt Thursday in the Conference League (4-0), was well muzzled by the solid Neapolitan defense, before leaving injured at the end of the match.
Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo leaves the field injured during a Serie A match in Naples on April 18, 2022 Andreas SOLARO AFP
But after the entry of Henrikh Mkhitaryan in particular, Roma gradually gained the upper hand, showing themselves to be particularly dangerous on headers from Tammy Abraham (61st) then Gianluca Mancini (66th) before the equalizing kick of " ElSha", who scored his three goals of the season in added time.
"It seemed impossible to end this match with a defeat," reacted José Mourinho on DAZN.
A relieved coach but also furious with the refereeing, believing that Zaniolo should have benefited from a penalty on a limit exit from Alex Meret: "We need more respect, today it seems we didn't have the right to play to win."
© 2022 AFP