It’s finally here. After a drought of more than thirty years, Napoli are again champions of the Italian Serie A. A 1-1 draw against Udinese was enough to claim the third scudetto in club history. The difference with number two Lazio Roma has become unbridgeable.
Because the difference with number two Lazio Roma prior to the game was 15 points, and there were still five games to play, a draw was enough for Napoli to become the definitive champion. Early in the game, the Austrian Sandi Lovrić from Udinese gave the Neapolitans — there were also more than 60,000 spectators in their own Stadio Diego Armando Maradona — new stress: he cleverly made the 1-0 for the home team.
Last Sunday, the championship celebration in Naples had to be postponed, when Napoli failed to beat low-flyer Salernitana (1-1). The new concerns due to the rapid arrears lasted no longer than one half on Thursday. The Napoli fans owed that to another goal from Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, coveted by the European top. He equalized shortly after the break, when the ball suddenly landed at his feet after a save by the Udinese keeper.
Most successful season in recent history
With the championship, Napoli has drawn a thick line under the most successful season in recent club history. Shortly after the winter break, the club already enjoyed a lead of more than twenty points over number two. Soon it was not a question of if, but when Napoli would ever win its third national championship. The success formation of the Italian coach Luciano Spaletti also showed its strength in the Netherlands last year, when she humiliated Ajax 6-1 in the Champions League in their own stadium.
With the view of the finish line, Neapolitan victories began to become scarcer. Of the last five league games, apart from the one against Udinese, the team won only two. Napoli was also eliminated in the quarterfinals of the prestigious Champions League by last season’s Italian champions, AC Milan.
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