Napoli 3-3 Roma Player Ratings: Balerdi To The Rescue For Roma As Gli Azzuri Held To A Sensational Draw In The Derby del Sole

Fans got to witness Derby del Sole on matchday 8 of the Serie A 2026/27 season, as Napoli hosted Roma at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Although Roma managed most of the possession, Napoli had a better xG and looked to be the ones who would break the deadlock.

SSC Napoli did get the first goal of the game in the 28th minute, when a free-kick from Matteo Politano was cleared only as far as Frank Anguissa in the box, whose overhead kick saw the ball nestle into the top left corner, leaving the Napoli players and fans in utter disbelief.

The hosts got their second through Scott McTominay in the 48th minute, as his first two efforts, which were headers, were miraculously saved by Pierluigi Gollini, but the Scottish midfielder had the last laugh as he smashed the ball into an empty net in a third attempt.

AS Roma pulled one back through Matias Soulé, as he combined nicely with Donyell Malen before unleashing a powerful strike from the edge of the box in the 69th minute, which gave Alex Meret no chance.

Much to the surprise of the home fans, I Giallorossi equalized in the 74th minute as Evan N'Dicka's initial header fell in front of the substitute Leonardo Balerdi, and he made no mistake in finishing it at the roof of the net.

However, Gli Azzurri didn't let their heads drop and went ahead to grab what they thought to be the winner, as McTominay's right-footed shot from outside the box beat Gollini at his near post, making the Maradona Stadium burst with joy.

There was drama left still, as Balerdi placed his header in the back of the net in the 89th minute to restore parity once again. Massimiliano Allegri was shown a red card for his continuous complaining, as the game finished as one of the best nail-biters of the season.

Here are the Napoli vs Roma Player Ratings.

Key Takeaways

• Donyell Malen, Matias Soulé, and Wesley created the joint most chances in this game (4).
• Rafa Marín recorded the most defensive contributions (17).
• Marten de Roon and Bryan Cristante completed the joint most passes (72).

Napoli Player Ratings vs Roma

Check out the Napoli Player Ratings from the Napoli vs Roma Player Ratings.

Roma Player Ratings vs Napoli

Take a look at the Roma Player Ratings from the Napoli vs Roma Player Ratings.

Man of the Match

Scott McTominay was the best player in this Serie A game.

Worst Performer

Gianluca Mancini was the worst performer from Napoli vs Roma.