Napoli’s evening against Frosinone turned on an unusual penalty sequence, one that brought together Rasmus Hojlund, goalkeeper Palmisani, referee Feliciani and, ultimately, Kevin De Bruyne.
Hojlund had won the spot-kick after being brought down by Cittadini and initially took responsibility for it himself, even though Napoli’s bench appeared to have had another taker in mind. The Danish forward’s effort was stopped by Palmisani, seemingly denying the hosts their opening goal.
The VAR review, however, found that the Frosinone goalkeeper had left the goal line before the ball was struck. With neither of Palmisani’s feet on the line, Feliciani was instructed to order a retake under the current regulations.
Napoli changed the taker for the second attempt. Hojlund did not step up again; Allegri instead selected De Bruyne, and the Belgian converted to give Napoli a temporary 1-0 lead.
The episode ended with a more relaxed scene on the Napoli bench, where Allegri and Hojlund embraced after De Bruyne had made the retake count. It was a small but telling passage in the match: a striker’s missed chance, a technical correction from VAR, and a senior teammate delivering the finish when the moment came again.
