Swansea City were unable to take a lead into the second leg of their Europa League last-32 tie with Napoli despite a memorable performance at the Liberty Stadium this evening.

The hosts were on top for the vast majority of the match and squandered a number of clear chances to gain what would have been a historic victory.

Garry Monk's side must now travel to Naples for the return leg next week hoping for a similar display if they are to gain a huge European scalp.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at an action-packed night in South Wales.

Match statistics

Swansea
Shots: 21
On target: 8
Possession: 69%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 12

Napoli
Shots: 9
On target: 1
Possession: 31%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 14

Was the result fair?

No. Napoli undoubtedly got away with an undeserved draw this evening, relying on some inspired goalkeeping and a few poor finishes from Swansea to take the advantage in the tie. The Italian giants made an ominous start to the match when they had two chances in the opening five minutes, but from then on Swansea were on top and the only question is how they didn't score.

Napoli have rubbed shoulders with the likes of last season's Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Juventus this season, but they have not been dominated like that. The Italians deserve credit for standing firm, but they should thank Rafael and Pepe Reina, who both saved them on numerous occasions during their stints in goal.

Swansea's performance

They may not have been at their best in the league this season, but Swansea put their domestic troubles aside and produced a stunning display this evening. The only thing missing from their performance was a goal. They may well have been fearing the worst when they were cut open twice inside the first five minutes, but their response was excellent and they went on to put in as good a first-half performance as they have done all season - especially considering the quality of the opposition. The second half wasn't quite as impressive, but they maintained control of the match and still carved out a few more good scoring opportunities that they should have converted. The only criticism would be wastefulness in front of goal, but even then it was more often a case of good goalkeeping.

Garry Monk's side will certainly now be underdogs to progress into the last 16 but, if they can produce a similar performance to tonight's in the second leg then there is no reason why they can't win. Today was always going to go down as a momentous occasion in the history of the club, and the players made sure it was a proud one as well.

Napoli's performance

For five minutes, they were brilliant. They carved Swansea open with fast, fluid and attractive football twice and the home fans must have been fearing a rout at that stage in the match. However, they were soon put onto the back foot by the hosts and weren't allowed to exert their authority on the match again. Very few teams can limit a team of Napoli's quality to one shot on target, and even fewer can enjoy 69% of the ball against them, but that is exactly what Swansea did today.

Rafael Benitez's side were simply outplayed. They didn't perform too badly themselves, and Rafael and Pepe Reina deserve special praise for somehow keeping a clean sheet for their side, but Swansea were the better team on the night. That may not be the case a week today in Naples, but if they underestimated Garry Monk's side tonight, they certainly won't do so again.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Nathan Dyer: There were a number of brilliant performances from Swansea players, while Rafael could also lay claim to this award. However, it goes to Nathan Dyer for his persistent attacking play down the right flank, where he gave Anthony Reveillere a torrid time. He came close himself early on with a shot that sparked Swansea into life, and he repeatedly created chances for the rest of the match as Napoli struggled to deal with his pace and direct running. Swansea needed players to stand up and be counted on the big stage tonight, and Dyer did exactly that. His link-up play with Pablo Hernandez and Wilfried Bony - two other contenders for the award - was quite brilliant and the trio had the Napoli defence in trouble time and time again.

Biggest gaffe

Swansea were guilty of a few good chances missed, and perhaps the best of the lot fell to Bony. He ran on to a defence-splitting pass from Hernandez but took one touch too many as Rafael made a good stop. The keeper does deserve credit for the save, but a player of Bony's quality and in Bony's form should be tucking those sorts of chances away. It was put on a plate for him by the sublime pass, but he couldn't take advantage.

Referee performance

Ivan Bebek was lucky that he could sit back and admire for much of the match as neither team employed dirty tactics to deal with the other. However, the Croat did flash a couple of very soft yellow cards that by no means warranted them.

What next?

Swansea: Swansea will be looking to carry that form into Sunday's match against Liverpool and former manager Brendan Rodgers at Anfield.

Napoli: Napoli, meanwhile, will be hoping to close the gap on second-placed Roma in Serie A when they host Genoa on Monday night.