Sampdoria 1, Napoli 1: Player ratings and Man of the Match poll

There were some real stinkers in Napoli's performances today, but a couple of gems still emerged. Who stood out from the crowd?

Starters

Rafael Cabral - 5 - Really didn't have much to do aside from Sampdoria's goal, and on that he slipped. Not the best moment of Rafael's career.

Christian Maggio - 6 - Kind of a middling match for Maggio. Sampdoria's focus on Napoli's left left him without much work defensively for most of the match, but he did well when challenged. Didn't add a lot to Napoli's attack, though, despite the extra opportunity he could have had thanks to the lack of attacking pressure he faced.

Raul Albiol - 6 - Albiol's standout moment was getting kicked square in the chin by Stefano Okaka and not getting knocked out. Didn't make many mistakes, but also didn't do anything else to really put his mark on the match.

Kalidou Koulibaly - 5 - Some people have been incredibly harsh on Koulibaly's performance. Yes, he committed a number of fouls. Yes, he got sent off for earning two yellow cards. But those fouls came when Britos failed to do his job and needed someone to bail him out, and his sending off prevented an almost certain goal. This wasn't his best match, to be sure, but Koulibaly does not deserve more than a tiny fraction of the flack he's getting.

Miguel Britos - 1 - Unrelentingly terrible for the entire hour he was on the pitch. Arguably should have been sent off for a second yellow on several occasions. Every dangerous Sampdoria attack came through his area. Added nothing to the attack. He was an own goal away from being as bad as is possible.

David Lopez - 7 - Another good display for Lopez. While his partner regularly got swamped, Lopez did a lot of sweeping in front of Napoli's defense and stopped a lot of attacks in their tracks. Every time he plays, Lopez makes his purchase look better and better.

Gokhan Inler - 4 - In his last couple of matches, Inler showed signs that maybe his form was turning around. Today.... not so much. He was next to useless defensively, and added very little in attack. Something's just not working for Inler this season, and Napoli's better options in midfield mean that maybe he shouldn't play much any more.

Jose Callejon - 5 - Struggled with positioning and to get in to the flow of the match. When others tried to play him in to advantageous positions, he failed to take advantage. Next time out will be better. Hopefully. Maybe. Please.

Marek Hamsik - 6 - Mostly anonymous in the first half, when the front four were a non-factor because the rest of the squad was too busy defending to get them the ball. Was much better in the second half, though, and drove several of Napoli's best attacks of the half prior to being subbed off.

Faouzi Ghoulam - 7 - Was quiet and seemed less than comfortable playing on the wing for the first hour of the match. Once he moved back to fullback, though, he became a force, getting forward to support the attack well and stymieing what had been Sampdoria's primary avenue of attack in the match. Also served up an excellent cross for the equalizer.

Gonzalo Higuain - 5 - Nothing quite came off right for Higuain today. Sergio Romero, his Argentina national squad teammate, read his every move like a book and shut him down every time he tried something tricky. With today's goose egg also goes his chance to tie Diego Maradona's Napoli record of scoring in six straight matches, a mark that Jose Callejon also just missed out on earlier this season.

Substitutes

Dries Mertens - 6 - Did OK, but wasn't outstanding. About what you'd expect from a player who's been out for two weeks with a concussion. More than anything he actually did with the ball, though, Mertens' presence helped rebalance the side, and that was immensely valuable.

Jorginho - 7 - Extremely influential once he came on. Did a lot of good pushing the ball up the pitch in attack, and did far more work in defense than Inler had managed. Pretty much a note-perfect substitute performance for a midfielder.

Duvan Zapata - 8 - Wow wow wow. What a goal. What an appearance. What a day for Duvan Zapata. Only on the pitch for some 15 minutes, but he completely changed the tone of the match for Napoli. He was incredibly disruptive to Samp's back line and set up a couple of chances before putting his head on Ghoulam's cross to equalize the scoreline. Given playing time and support, Zapata is a player who can do incredible things for Napoli.

Who was your man of the match for Napoli today? Vote in the poll below and discuss the performances in the comments!