Christian Maggio scored deep into injury time to give Napoli a 1-0 victory at home to Palermo at the San Paolo in Naples on Monday night.
After a largely tame affair, Maggio pounced 30 seconds before the end of injury time to keep Napoli in third but now just six points behind leaders AC Milan and level on points with third placed Juventus.
Palermo dropped two places to seventh as the slight hit to their goal difference nevertheless allowed both Inter Milan and Sampdoria to leap-frog them.
As the game seemed destined to end goalless, Marek Hamsik played Serie A top-goalscorer Edinson Cavani in behind the visitors’ defence and he laid the ball on a plate to Maggio.
However, Maggio nonetheless did his best to miss from a yard out, slipping as he stretched out with his right leg, missing the ball, but then inadvertently diverting it home with his trailing left leg.
It was no more than Maggio deserved as he had been the best player on the pitch but had missed another glorious chance minutes before, a chance from six yards with only goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu to beat when he stumbled and missed the ball completely.
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri was a relieved man after the game.
“It would have been a shame if we hadn’t won, we played so well and could have scored five,” he said.
“We didn’t give anything away and if we’d have scored one or two in the first half the game would have been over.
“From the perspective of the way we played, it’s difficult to find a better performance, and it’s difficult to find any criticism.”
The first half provided little in the way of excitement as Napoli dominated the ball and pushed forward but created little.
Sirigu had to spring to his right to beat out a fierce Maggio shot early on but that was the only real test of the first 45 minutes.
Up the other end Fabrizio Miccoli found himself in space on the edge of the area but he took an age to dig the ball out from his feet and by the time he got a poked shot away, he had been closed down.
In the second period Uruguay striker Cavani, on loan from Palermo, hit a speculative volley to the near post that Sirigu shovelled behind.
The chance of the game so far came just past the hour mark as Maggio crossed into the box with former Liverpool full-back Andrea Dossena missing his attempted flicked finish and the ball arriving to Ezequiel Lavezzi at the back post but somehow Sirigu got across to block his shot.
The Sicilians’ talented Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore set his sights from 20 yards at an angle 10 minutes from time but his volley faded away from the far post.
Gianluca Grava came to Napoli’s rescue as he cut out a cross from Mattia Cassani with Massimo Maccarone waiting for a simple tap in.
But then Sirigu stuck out a leg to stop Maggio’s cross reaching substitute Nicolao Dumitru and the goalkeeper also made a smart save from Algerian Hassan Yebda.
Napoli laid a typical late and successful siege to Palermo’s goal.
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