NAPOLI SHARE POINTS WITH LAZIO

Napoli were held down in the Serie A title race as Balde Keita cancelled out MarekHamsik's second-half opener in less than three minutes to earn Lazio a 1-1 draw in Saturday's clash at the Stadio San Paolo.

Maurizio Sarri's men were aiming to get back onto the winning lane after losing 2-1 to the defending champions, Juventus last week. The hosts made a strong approach to the match as Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne tirelessly challenged Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti which brought him into action in the opening 45 minutes.

Ciro Immobile was Lazio's main danger man and Juventus threat, with a frequent attack that came quite close to breaking the deadlock early in the second half. Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina was just able to keep out his first attempt, before he aimed just wide from a narrow angle shortly after.

Hamsik then found the net in the 52nd minute after a beautiful piece of skill, dancing past Wallace and DusanBasta before passing by Marchetti with a low left-footed shot in the far corner.

Lazio hit back in less than three minutes later which leveled the game. Keita shrugged off VladChiriches and shocked Reina with a low shot in the near corner to make it 1-1.

Napoli emerged forward in a bid to reclaim their lead, but there would be no more goals as Marchetti frustrated the in-form Hamsik, Elseid Hysaj and the strong Manolo Gabbiadini to help Lazio hold onto the one snatched point.

The result helps Lazio maintain the fourth position with 22 points gathered from 12 games having won six, drawn four and lost two. The hosts, on the other hand, are one point below Atlanta who settle on the fifth position having trashed Sassuolo 3-0 on Sunday to secure the same points with Lazio.