Akor Adams scored early in the second half and goalkeeper Filip Stanković saved a Kevin De Bruyne penalty as bottom club Venezia beat Napoli 1-0 at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo on Saturday. It was Venezia's first Serie A win of the season, in Davide Nicola's first game in charge, and a third league defeat in seven matches for Massimiliano Allegri's Napoli.
Match facts
- Result: Venezia 1-0 Napoli (half-time 0-0)
- Competition: Serie A, Matchday 7
- Venue: Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo, Venice
- Scorers: Venezia - Adams 49'; Napoli - none
- Red cards: None
- Next: Napoli v Bodø/Glimt (Champions League), Tuesday 20 October; Genoa v Venezia (Serie A), Sunday 25 October
How the match unfolded
Napoli had most of the ball but created little in a cagey first half. Adams forced Alex Meret into a save from a tight angle in the ninth minute, Giovane sent a shot from distance just wide midway through the half, and Amir Rrahmani had an effort blocked after a corner around the half-hour mark. Napoli did not manage a shot on target before the break.
Venezia went ahead four minutes after the restart. Simon Sohm hit a long ball forward, Adams muscled past Amir Rrahmani and cut inside, and his shot took a deflection off the Napoli defender on its way past Meret.
Allegri made a triple change in the 54th minute, sending on De Bruyne, Rasmus Højlund and Alisson Santos for Billy Gilmour, Lorenzo Lucca and Giovane. Højlund tested Stanković in the 62nd minute, and four minutes later he was brought down in the box by Matías Moreno. De Bruyne stepped up in the 68th minute, but Stanković kept out his weak spot-kick.
Venezia almost doubled their lead in the 70th minute, when Adams played substitute Albion Rrahmani through on goal, but Meret saved. From then on, Stanković came off his line twice to deny Højlund, made an outstanding save to keep out Stanislav Lobotka's shot from outside the box, and stopped Alisson Santos in the closing minutes as Venezia held on.
What it means for both clubs
Napoli finished with 29 shots to nine, 10 of them on target, and 12 corners to none. Nicola was appointed on 14 October, a day after Giovanni Stroppa was dismissed, and inherited a side with no points from six games. Venezia remain bottom, now on three points; according to Lega Serie A, their previous Serie A win came in May 2025.
For Napoli, the defeat ends a three-match unbeaten league run and follows Tuesday's Champions League loss at Villarreal. They stay on 10 points before hosting Bodø/Glimt in Europe on Tuesday and Roma in Serie A next Saturday. De Bruyne, who scored twice for Belgium in a 3-0 win over Türkiye earlier this month, had also scored twice in Napoli's previous league game against Frosinone. Matchday 7 opened on Friday with Frosinone's 4-2 win over Sassuolo.
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