Newly crowned Italian champions Napoli added three points to their tally on Sunday as they returned home to face Fiorentina, who were greeted by an enthusiastic Diego Armando Maradona stadium. The dispute was settled by a penalty in the 71st minute converted by Victor Osimhen.
Scudetto returns to Naples
It wasn’t just the Napoli fans who welcomed their players into the stadium like heroes; The Fiorentina players lined up in a guard of honor and sportily landed them on the field, making this significant event even more memorable.
It has been 33 years since the late Diego Maradona led Napoli to their previous Serie A title, and by naming their stadium after his death, the club continues to honor the memory of the great Argentine legend.
It’s not that Napoli didn’t have great players and great teams between then and now. Stars like Marek Hamsik, Jorginho, Edinson Cavani, Gonzalo Higuain, Allan have come and gone. Coaches such as Rafa Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti, Maurizio Sarri, Gennaro Gattuso and other greats were responsible for the team, but none of them managed to win the competition and return the Italian crown to the shadow of the city. sleeping Vesuvius.
At the start of this season, it was expected that Napoli would take several years to regain their strength as the likes of Lorenzo Insigne, Kalidou Koulibaly, Arkadiusz Milik and Fabian Ruiz left the club. Kim Min Jae, Frank Anguissa, Giacomo Raspadori and, of course, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia arrived and outclassed the players they replaced in style.
Little by little, game after game, Luciano Spalletti’s men separated themselves from the rest of the group, ensuring that the very top of the table belonged to them and no one else. As the season entered its second half, the outcome of the title race was not hard to guess.
Unsurprisingly, a few players have attracted the attention of “big” European clubs, and some may well leave Naples this summer, but none of them will forget their success there. Those who leave will walk away with a Serie A medal, a great honor and a big reminder of possibly the best season of their career.
A game
Interestingly enough, though perhaps not surprising, it was Fiorentina who kept the ball more at their feet (54%), landed more shots (10-15) and made more passes (423-467) in this game. with greater accuracy (84-85%). The guests also committed more fouls and were offside more often than the champions.
Understandably, Fiorentina showed a greater willingness to go ahead and score throughout the match. They mainly attacked from the left, where Sasa Terzic often broke the touchline and made dangerous crosses into the box, but striker Luka Jovic could not get into their edge or simply control them well enough to put the Napoli goalkeeper. Pierluigi Gollini is in danger except once in the first half. But even then Gollini coped with the task.
Another notable moment for Viola was in the first half when Leo Ostigard slipped on the edge of his own box and Jovic lashed out, but Gollini again interfered with the Serbian striker.
At Napoli, Osimhen was often completely out of attack, especially in the first half, and when a pass found him, he always had too many opponents to deal with. As in the case of Fiorentina, the home team also had two good chances to score, but first Eldjif Elmas and then Osimhen shot wide of the goal.
As soon as the second half began, Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka pressed well and intercepted the ball from the edge of the penalty area, then stepped inside and forced Sofyan Amrabat to knock him down. Referee Matteo Marchetti had no doubts as he blew his whistle and pointed to the spot. Osimhen took the lead, but his penalty was saved by Pietro Terracciano.
At the hour mark, Napoli left-back Mathias Olivera worked well with Kvaratskhelia (Georgian winger coming off the bench) before throwing a six-yard hard cross, but Osimkhen failed to land a header in time. .
The second penalty for his team was won by Kvaratskhelia himself. He cut inside from the left and entered the box, where he was thought to have been tripped by Nicholas Gonzalez. Marchetti was very decisive in awarding the penalty, although perhaps it should be said that he was not as straightforward as the first.
However, Osimhen took the chance to strike once more from the spot, and this time he didn’t make a mistake.
González had a chance to make amends late in the game, but after substitute Lorenzo Venuti set him up beautifully, he fired and missed the target. Christian Kouame also had a chance to equalize, perhaps even better, as Jovic found him accurately through the Napoli defense, but Gollini pulled out to cut a corner and a toe shot went over the bar.
Fiorentina in the center
This game probably meant as much to Fiorentina as it did to Napoli from a competitive point of view – very little. Vincenzo Italiano’s side are currently eighth in the Serie A table, 12 points behind seventh-placed Roma, and their chances of playing in Europe next season are tied to their fate in the European Conference League this season.
On Thursday, they will face Basel in the first leg of the semi-finals, and this is where all their energy will be concentrated.
As for Napoli, congratulations once again to the Italian champions.