Napoli stunned by late goal, title party put on ice

Leaders Napoli were held to a 1-1 home draw after a late goal by Salernitana forward Boulaye Dia cancelled out Mathias Olivera‘s header, denying Luciano Spalletti’s side an early title celebration at their home ground.

Napoli could have sealed their first title in 33 years with a win, but despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession, they were denied on a flurry of shots by goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who was extremely busy between the posts.

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Napoli are now on 79 points, far ahead of second-place Lazio (61) with six games remaining. They will have another chance to clinch the Scudetto at Udinese on Thursday.

Salernitana were under great pressure for most of the game, with the first attempt at their goal by Victor Osimhen coming inside the opening 70 seconds.

The Nigerian striker was close to giving Napoli the lead in the 23rd minute through another header, but Ochoa made a brilliant stop.

Napoli midfielder Andre Zambo Anguissa aimed for the middle of Ochoa’s goal from a distance shortly before half-time but was also denied by the Mexican keeper.

Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia tried to beat Ochoa with a curled shot after the break while midfielder Piotr Zielinski attempted to do the same with an overhead kick, both striking above the bar.

The stadium erupted eventually when Napoli found the net just after the hour mark through defender Olivera, who leaped up in the box to nod the ball into the bottom-left corner from a corner kick.

But Salernitana equalised seven minutes from time through Dia, who broke into Napoli’s area and struck inside the far post, spoiling the party for hundreds of thousands fans who flew into Naples this weekend, as reported by Italian media.

Salernitana, unbeaten under coach Paulo Sousa in their past nine league outings, also held Inter Milan and AC Milan to 1-1 draws during that run.

Napoli missed the chance to clinch the Serie A title earlier than any other team in league history (six games remaining).

Juventus were the most recent side to become Serie A champions with five games left (2018-19), joining Inter, Fiorentina and Torino in that exclusive club.

In 1990, Napoli claimed their second title on the final day of the season.

Argentine star Diego Maradona inspired Napoli to its triumph in 1990, but since then, the coveted champions’ Scudetto has been won almost exclusively by wealthy northern Italy clubs such as Juventus and AC Milan.