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Napoli v Paris facts

Napoli were denied three points at Paris Saint-Germain by a late Ángel Di María goal as the teams renew acquaintance.

Dries Mertens after scoring Napoli's second goal at Paris
Dries Mertens after scoring Napoli's second goal at Paris ©AFP/Getty Images

A late Paris Saint-Germain equaliser on matchday three denied Napoli a win that would have put the Italian side in a strong position in Group C, although Carlo Ancelotti's side have another chance to put distance between themselves and their French rivals in the reverse fixture.

• Napoli led twice at the Parc des Princes on 24 October, through Lorenzo Insigne (29) and Dries Mertens (77), but Paris – who have now won only twice against Italian clubs in 19 fixtures – hit back on each occasion thanks to a Mário Rui own goal (61) and Ángel Di María, the latter goal coming three minutes into added time.

• The Italian side are therefore on five points, one point behind Group C leaders Liverpool and one ahead of Paris. Crvena zvezda have a single point to their name and are the only side in the section whose fate could be decided on matchday four; defeat for the Serbian side at home to Liverpool and a Napoli victory would end their hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League round of 16.

Previous meetings
• The sides' only past contests came in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup second round, when Paris won the first leg 2-0 in Naples, George Weah scoring twice in the first half. Those goals proved to be the only ones in the tie, a goalless second leg at the Parc des Princes securing a place in the third round for Paris, who would lose to eventual winners Juventus in the semi-finals.

Highlights: Paris 2-2 Napoli

Form guide
Napoli
• Having been held 0-0 at Crvena zvezda in their opening fixture, a 90th-minute Insigne goal earned Napoli a 1-0 win against last season's finalists Liverpool in their first home game on matchday two.

• Serie A runners-up in 2017/18, Napoli are in the group stage for the fifth time – all in the last eight seasons. They reached the round of 16 in 2011/12 and 2016/17.

• The Italian club finished third in their section last season – winning two of their three home matches and losing the other – and went on to the UEFA Europa League round of 32, where they lost to RB Leipzig.

• The Serie A side have lost two of their last four home European matches. However, they have suffered only four losses in their last 27 European home fixtures (W17 D6).

• The win against Liverpool was only Napoli's third in their last seven home games in the UEFA Champions League group stage to final; they have lost three in that sequence.

• Napoli have won their last two home games against French clubs, beating Nice 2-0 in last season's play-offs. The 1992 defeat by Paris is their only loss in five games against Ligue 1 clubs in Naples (W3 D1).

Di María's stunner and the rest of the best matchday three goals

Paris
• Beaten 3-2 at Liverpool on matchday one – the club's third successive away defeat in Europe – Thomas Tuchel's side bounced back with a 6-1 defeat of debutants Crvena zvezda in their second fixture, Neymar scoring a hat-trick. The draw with Napoli means Paris have registered ten goals this season and are the joint top scorers in the competition alongside Barcelona.

• Ligue 1 champions for the fifth time in six years in 2017/18, and seventh time overall, this is the French side's seventh successive UEFA Champions League campaign.

• Semi-finalists in 1995, Paris have been knocked out in the round of 16 in the last two seasons – having been eliminated in the quarter-finals in the four previous campaigns.

• Paris have scored in their last 19 UEFA Champions League games.

• The Parisian club have lost their last three European away games, conceding three goals in each of them – 3-2 at Liverpool on matchday one and 3-1 at both Real Madrid in the round of 16 first leg and Bayern München on matchday six last season.

• Before beating Crvena zvezda, Paris had lost four European matches in a row – the worst run in their history – during which they conceded 11 goals.

• The win at Napoli in 1992 is Paris's sole success in their nine visits to Italy (D3 L5).

• The French title-holders have won only two of their 19 games against Italian clubs, home and away (D8 L9).

• The Ligue 1 side scored 25 goals in the 2017/18 group stage, a UEFA Champions League record.

Sensational matchday three skills

Links and trivia
• Carlo Ancelotti was Paris coach between 2011 and 2013, winning the Ligue 1 title in 2012/13.

• Ángel Di María and Ancelotti won the UEFA Champions League together at Real Madrid in 2013/14.

• Ancelotti was Gianluigi Buffon's coach at Parma between 1996 and 1998.

• Edinson Cavani scored 78 goals in 104 Serie A appearances for Napoli between 2010 and 2013 before moving to Paris, winning the Coppa Italia in 2011/12.

• Have also played in Italy:
Gianluigi Buffon (Parma 1995–2001, Juventus 2001–18)
Thiago Silva (AC Milan 2009–12)
Marquinhos (AS Roma 2012–13)
Dani Alves (Juventus 2016/17)
Marco Verratti (Pescara 2008–12)

• Have played in France:
David Ospina (Nice, 2008–14)
Kévin Malcuit (Monaco 2010–12, Vannes 2012, Fréjus 2012–14, Niort 2014–15, Saint-Étienne 2015–17, LOSC Lille 2017/18)
Kalidou Koulibaly (Metz 2010–12)
Faouzi Ghoulam (Saint-Étienne 2010–14)
Adam Ounas (Bordeaux 2015–17)

• Have played together:
José Callejón, Raúl Albiol & Lassana Diarra, Ángel Di María (Real Madrid 2011–13)
Simone Verdi & Thiago Silva (Milan 2009–11)

• International team-mates:
Dries Mertens & Thomas Meunier (Belgium)
José Callejón & Juan Bernat (Spain)
Simone Verdi, Lorenzo Insigne & Gianluigi Buffon, Marco Verratti (Italy)
Amin Younes & Julian Draxler (Germany)

Latest news

Napoli
• Napoli won their first five home games in all competitions this season before being held 1-1 by Roma on 28 October – Dries Mertens rescuing a point with a last-minute equaliser.

• The Belgian hit a hat-trick in Friday's 5-1 victory against Empoli in Naples, the Partenopei's biggest win of the season.

• Mertens has now scored in four consecutive games in all competitions, six goals in his last five Serie A games and seven in his last seven matches overall.

• Lorenzo Insigne, however, remains Napoli's leading scorer this term with seven goals in ten Serie A games, including the opener against Empoli, and two in three UEFA Champions League outings.

• The Roma game is Napoli's only Serie A draw this season (W8 L2).

• Napoli have failed to score only once in Serie A this season, the 3-0 defeat at Sampdoria on 2 September.

• Marek Hamšík, who was an unused substitute against Empoli on Friday, made his 511th Napoli appearance against Roma - matching the all-time club record set by former defender Giuseppe Bruscolotti. The Slovakian's next appearance will set a new mark.

• Simone Verdi has not played since suffering a thigh injury against Udinese on 20 October. Adam Ounas has a similar problem and has not featured since 16 October, although he was on the bench against Empoli.

• Goalkeeper Alex Meret is yet to make his Napoli debut after breaking his arm soon after joining this summer. Faouzi Ghoulam underwent knee surgery in July having not played since 1 November 2017 and has been an an unused substitute in Napoli's last two games.

• New signing Amin Younes has had an operation on a ruptured Achilles tendon; Vlad Chiricheş ruptured the cruciate ligament in his left knee in Romania's game against Montenegro on 7 September.

Paris 
• Matchday three was Neymar's 50th UEFA Champions League appearance – and his 50th game in UEFA club competition.

• Paris's 2-1 win at home to LOSC Lille on Friday made it 12 Ligue 1 victories in a row to kick off the new season, surpassing Tottenham's 11-match winning run in 1960/61 as the best start to a season in Europe's top five leagues.

• Kylian Mbappé scored the opener at the Parc des Princes, making it 11 goals in eight Ligue 1 appearances this season. The 19-year-old has found the net in Paris's last four league matches, scoring seven times.

• Neymar has nine goals in ten league games this season.

• The 2-0 win at Marseille on 28 October was the first time this season Paris had failed to score three or more goals in a league game. Thomas Tuchel's side have managed 41 in their first 12 fixtures.

• On 7 October Mbappé became the youngest player to score four goals in a Ligue 1 game as Paris defeated Lyon 5-0, hitting four in a 14-minute burst – another record.

• On 11 October Mbappé became the first teenager to score ten goals for France with a late penalty equaliser in a 2-2 friendly draw against Iceland in Guingamp.

• Thiago Silva (Achilles) and Edinson Cavani (hamstring) missed the Marseille game; the former returned against LOSC Lille.

• Dani Alves (right knee) and Layvin Kurzawa (back) are yet to play this season, although the former returned to training on 11 September.

• On 31 October, Paris extended Ángel Di María's contract for two years, keeping him at the club until June 2021.

• Paris won the Trophée des Champions for the sixth year in a row and eighth overall with a 4-0 defeat of Monaco on 4 August. Di María scored twice, Christopher Nkunku and Timothy Weah getting the other goals.