Napoli denied Serie A lead with Cagliari draw

Napoli missed out on the chance to move top of Serie A on Monday after Victor Osimhen snatched a barely deserved 1-1 draw at rejuvenated Cagliari.

Nigeria forward Osimhen saved a point for Napoli when he crashed in a powerful header with three minutes remaining but it was not enough for the away side to take first place from AC Milan.

Luciano Spalletti's outfit would have taken top spot ahead of Milan on goal difference had they won in Sardinia but instead are two points back in third.

It was another reprieve for Milan following their drew 2-2 at bottom side Salernitana on Saturday, as second-placed Inter, who are level on 54 points with Napoli, were beaten 2-0 by Sassuolo on Sunday.

Napoli were missing a host of players to injury including captain Lorenzo Insigne and key midfielders Stanislav Lobotka and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and the performance at a windy Unipol Domus stadium will have caused concern ahead of Thursday's Europa League showdown with Barcelona.

Gaston Pereiro was handed what looked like being the goal which would have pulled Cagliari out of the relegation zone by David Ospina shortly before the hour mark, when the Napoli goalkeeper let a week shot squirm through his fingers and into his net.

However Ospina then redeemed himself with some important saves which kept the deficit to one goal and allowed substitute Osimhen to earn Napoli a draw when he thumped home Mario Rui's deep cross.

Cagliari stay 18th, level on 22 points with Venezia who stay one place outside the drop zone due to Osimhen's late leveller.