Draw at Udinese is enough
SSC Napoli is Italian champion. Coach Luciano Spalletti’s team drew 1-1 (0-1) at Udinese Calcio on Thursday evening and thus secured their third title in the club’s history in Serie A. With five games to go, Napoli are 16 points ahead of Lazio and can can therefore no longer be obtained.
The goal of the draw and their first championship since the Diego Maradona era more than three decades ago came from top scorer Victor Osimhen in the 52nd minute after the visitors fell behind early on. Sandi Lovric (13th) scored for Udinese. While former Bundesliga professional Osimhen and his teammates were celebrating in Udine with the fans who had traveled with them, the long-awaited mega party in Napoli began. Around 60,000 fans watched the game on eight large screens in the stadium named after Maradona, and countless screens were also set up in the city.
Osimhen ahead of Kvaratskhelia: Serie A Most Valuable Players
Countless supporters gathered in the large squares during the day and got in the mood for the triumph with battle songs and Bengal fire. Even before the final whistle in Udine, fireworks rockets were shot into the sky in Naples. For security reasons, a number of streets were closed to traffic in the already chaotic city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, and a large police presence was intended to ensure a peaceful night of partying. Actually, the party should have started last Sunday – but because Napoli surprisingly only played 1-1 at home against Salernitana, the celebration had to be postponed by four days. Hardly anyone in Italy had doubts about the third title for Naples after 1987 and 1990 for weeks.
The southern Italians deserved the triumph with splendid and mostly sovereign performances this season, an exciting offensive around Osimhen and dribbling artist Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as well as the carefreeness of an outsider without any big stars. After a few narrowly missed successes in recent years, Spalletti managed this time that his team did not slump over the course of the season. In the Champions League, SSC was only eliminated in the quarter-finals against AC Milan.
Il sogno ora è realtà: Napoli torna Campione! #Napul3
#ForzaNapoliSemper #TuttoPerLei pic.twitter.com/HW32sfZecy
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) May 4, 2023
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