German Bundesliga side Union Berlin picked up their first Champions League point on Wednesday night as they held Italian champions Napoli to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Matteo Politano scored for the Italians in the 39th minute before David Datro Fofana equalised for Union Berlin in 52 minutes to keep their chances of finishing third to qualify for a Europa spot.
Napoli were without Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, who was injured, so Giacomo Raspadori started upfront, though Natan returned after his suspension against Salernitana.
The Germans had lost 12 competitive games in a row, and Leonardo Bonucci returned to the Stadio Maradona, though Danilo Doekhi and Andras Schafer were injured. Two weeks ago, Raspadori scored the only goal when these sides met in Berlin.
The draw left Napoli in second place in Group C on seven points, five points behind leaders Real Madrid, who defeated Braga on Wednesday.
“It’s the game we had prepared,” said man-of-the-match Politano. “We just shouldn’t have conceded that equaliser.”
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“We should have won, we had chances and the performance was good. We must carry on like this and go into the next two games with the same spirit.”
Union, who had lost all their previous group matches in their maiden Champions League appearance, are bottom of the Group C table with one point.
They can no longer reach the knockout stage but still finish third and qualify for the Europa League.
“This feels good,” said Union captain Christopher Trimmel. “The longer a losing run lasts, the more your confidence evaporates. We had been feeling that.”
“This performance can hopefully give us some energy for the coming weeks, but I know football well, and we must keep working hard.”
The draw was a massive relief for Union Berlin following 12 consecutive defeats in all competitions.
The Bundesliga are out of the Champions League knockout rounds but can still aim for third place to book a Europa League spot.
