Napoli took a 1-0 lead over Aris in a pre-season friendly at the Teofilo Patini Stadium in Castel di Sangro, with Rrahmani getting the goal. The match was still in progress at the time of the update, but the scoreline had already given Napoli control of a summer test both teams needed ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The reason the fixture drew attention was simple: both sides arrived with momentum, and Napoli still found the breakthrough. Aris had come in after a 3-1 win over Monza on July 30th, a 5-1 win over Panthrakikos on August 5th and a 2-2 draw with Panserraikos on August 8th, while Napoli had also posted two wins and a draw in its recent friendlies. Yet the opening chance belonged to Aris, and Dioudis had to stop Hojlind in a one-on-one to keep it level before Napoli struck back.
Napoli set up in a 4-3-3 with Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marín and Spinazzola; Zambo Anguissa, Gilmour and McTominay; Politano, Hojlund and Alisson Santos. Aris matched that shape with Dioudis; Fadiga, Fabiano, Dele-Bashiru and Kerkez; Racic, Jensen and Gianniotas; Garré, Kadewere and Rafa Mir. The lineups underlined the point of the night: this was less about the result on paper than about a competitive rehearsal, and Napoli still found the edge.
That mattered because the clubs were arriving from different finishing positions last season. Napoli ended second in Serie A with 76 points, nine behind Inter, while Aris finished eighth in the Stoiximan Super League with 30 points. But in a friendly, the immediate question is often whether a team can translate preparation into control on the pitch, and Napoli had done that by turning one of its early chances into a lead. The remaining question is whether that 1-0 stood as the final score, because the live update did not confirm how the match finished.
