Napoli have secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League courtesy of their first-leg 3-1 win over Dynamo Moscow, who failed to strike in the return fixture.
The match in Russia ended goalless between the two sides, despite numerous chances, one of which resulted in Chris Samba finding the back of the net with a header, but it was ruled out for being offside.
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The visitors had the majority of chances in the first half, but the hosts took control after the break when Aleksandr Kokorin curled the ball into the box to find the head of Kevin Kuranyi.
The forward forced the goalkeeper to push the ball behind for a corner, but it came to nothing for the home side as they continued to knock on the door.
Minutes later, Mathieu Valbuena made a powering run into the final third, but the accuracy in his finish let him down as Mariano Andujar was able to save comfortably.
Napoli ramped up their own attack and three times they were denied by the post - the third of which came when Manolo Gabbiadini found space to launch a low drive from outside the box, but it bounced off the post and out for a goal kick.
As the half went on, Moscow came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock when a well-timed cross found Kuranyi, but following pressure from his marker, the forward could only head the ball over the top of the goal.
In the final 10 minutes of the game, Napoli appealed for a penalty when Christian Maggio went down in the box following a challenge from Alexander Buttner, but the referee rightfully dismissed the claims.
Both sides had opportunities to score, but it wasn't to be as Rafael Benitez's side booked their place into the next round.
Danielle Joynson
