Cameroon’s Zambo Anguissa with assist as Napoli’s title hopes suffer huge Empoli blow

Cameroon’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa earned an assist as Napoli’s Serie A title hopes suffered a blow after a 3-2 loss to Empoli.

The Indomitable Lions midfielder provided the assist for Napoli’s second goal, which was scored by Lorenzo Insigne, while Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen did not make an impact despite playing for the duration of the game.

Napoli surrendered a two-goal lead and lost to Empoli, who had not registered a victory in their previous 16 matches before Sunday’s game against Luciano Spalletti's team.

Dries Mertens – with an assist from Hirving Lozano – scored the opening goal for Napoli with a superb finish in the 44th minute.

They doubled their lead in the 53rd minute with an arrowing effort from Insigne. Although the away side took firm control of the game following the two goals, they later crumbled to allow Empoli to mount an incredible comeback.

Napoli – who were close to registering a win that would have had them keep pace with Serie A's leading sides -  Inter Milan and AC Milan – allowed Liam Henderson to score in the 80th minute and give Empoli a glimpse of hope of a comeback.

Three minutes after scoring their first goal, Empoli grabbed the second when Andrea Pinamonti struck to re-energise his teammates. Pinamonti completed Empoli’s comeback with an 87th-minute goal that left Napoli stunned at how they crumbled in the last 10 minutes of regular time.

Despite the comeback, the home side saw four of their players yellow-carded - Filippo Bandinelli, Mattia Viti, Petar Stojanovic, and Pinamonti were cautioned in the fourth, 72nd, 81st and 88th minutes, respectively. Napoli’s Alessandro Zanoli was the only player to be yellow-carded from his team when he was warned in the 22nd minute.

Napoli – who have