Rafael Benitez's much-changed Napoli side have been held to a 1-1 home draw by Serie A minnows Sassuolo.

Early on Pablo Armero found Gonzalo Higuain in the box, but his low effort was too central and was easily saved.

© AFP

However, they did not have to wait long for the opening goal as Blerim Dzemaili rifled into the bottom corner from just outside the box on 14 minutes.

Sassuolo fought back and were on level terms six minutes later with Simone Zaza finishing well from Jasmin Kurtic's assist.

Both sides had chances throughout the rest of the game, but a combination of wastefulness and fine defending kept the score down to 1-1 as the points were shared.