It was torture for a long time, then Victor Osimhen came along. The superstar’s goal on Thursday evening (May 4th, 2023) meant the third championship title in Serie A for SSC Napoli: the game ended 1-1 at Udinese Calcio.
As easy as the starting position seemed to be – exactly this draw had to be achieved at the big party after a 33-year break – Napoli found it extremely difficult from the first minute. The 10,000 fans who traveled with them, as well as the 50,000 at the public viewing in the sold-out Diego Maradona Stadium back home, must have been stunned by how heavy their legs were and how blocked their heroes’ heads were.
No speed, Osimhen signed off
Luciano Spalletti’s team started with a lot of possession, but without any pace going forward. Osimhen was mostly doubled by the Udine defense and had hardly any ball contacts. Udine used the noticeable nervousness of the Neapolitans ice cold. In the 13th minute, Destiny Udogie prevailed on the left, was not attacked and was able to take Sandi Lovric with him. He flicked the ball – also completely unchallenged – from the left corner of the penalty area beautifully into the right angle: 1:0 for the blatant outsider, who had secured the league at that point.
Napoli wanted to react but lacked momentum, ideas and lightness. Things got a little tricky in the 23rd minute when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, entering the Udinese box, touched Rodrigo Becão’s knee and fell to the ground. However, referee Rosario Abisso correctly decided to continue playing and stuck to his opinion even after a short VAR check.
A header chance – it was nothing more
It was only after a good half hour that Osimhen made an appearance, but placed his header just wide of the right corner after a chip cross from Eljif Elmas. After that, however, the offensive efforts quickly died down again, and Naples seemed almost paralyzed at times.
At the beginning of the second half things didn’t look any better. But then there was violence. Frank Anguissa accidentally hit a low pass from the right into the middle, but found a taker in Kvaratskhelia. Udinese keeper Marco Silvestri was only able to parry his shot from 18 meters forward, but Osimhen made a well-considered and untenable shot from the penalty spot to make it 1-1 (52′) – at that moment Napoli were champions.
Udinese Calcio hardly with relief
And from that moment, Napoli finally played like a champion too. Calcio was constricted in and around his own penalty area and could barely cross the center line. The only drawback: There were hardly any clear chances to score, and it wasn’t until the 72nd minute that substitute Piotr Zielinski failed with a volley from the brilliantly reacting Silvestri.
But then Udine obviously didn’t want to disturb the celebrations anymore and limited himself to securing the draw. Napoli have thus reached 80 points, “chasers” Lazio Roma has 64 points. Five games before the end of the season, SSC Napoli deservedly crowned their brilliant season with only three defeats and 25 wins in 33 games with the “Scudetto”.
Spalletti is happy for the fans
“When you see the Neapolitans happy, you get a sense of the joy they feel,” said a visibly moved Spalletti after the game. “These people will look to that moment when life gets tough, they have every right to celebrate like that. It makes you feel a little more relaxed knowing you’ve given them that moment of happiness.”