Napoli on brink of title glory in Serie A finale
AFP, Italy :
Napoli are on the brink of claiming their second Serie A title in three seasons as they head into the final weekend of the campaign leading Scudetto rivals Inter Milan by a single point.
Antonio Conte’s team host Cagliari in front of what will be a packed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona today night, at the same time as Inter kick off at in-form Como.
Last weekend’s dramatic goalless draw at Parma has left Napoli needing to match or better Inter’s result at Como in order to secure a fourth league crown.
After that Conte’s future at Napoli is still in doubt with Italian media widely reporting that he will return to Juventus, where he spent the majority of his trophy-packed playing career and won three league titles as coach.
“Winning the Scudetto would repay all of the effort that I’ve put in this season. I know that I’m very tired and that I’m just about OK to get to the end of the season,” said Conte after Sunday’s stalemate.
Neither Conte nor his Inter counterpart Simone Inzaghi will be in their respective dugouts on Friday after both were sent off in a tempestuous penultimate round of matches which ended with Napoli and Inter drawing.
Inzaghi was enraged at the penalty from which Lazio’s Pedro equalised for the second time on Sunday, a 90th-minute spot-kick netted following a Yann Bisseck handball which so angered Inter that no one spoke to media after the 2-2 draw at the San Siro.
Meanwhile Conte nearly came to blows with a Parma’s assistant manager Antonio Gagliardi, Conte’s match analyst with the Italian national team a decade ago, in the final moments at Parma, just as Napoli fans were celebrating Pedro’s spot-kick.
Former Spain international Pedro became an instant hero in Naples as the 37-year-old’s 14th goal of the season kept Napoli top of the division heading into the final weekend.
Napoli and Inter’s matches have been scheduled for Friday to give Inter adequate time to prepare for the Champions League final on May 31, even in the unlikely event that the two teams finish level on points and leave the title to be decided by a play-off on Monday.
The threat of a play-off has complicated the season finale, in particular for Inter whose showdown with Paris Saint-Germain in Munich is now the priority with their league title defence as good as over.
An eventual play-off had originally been scheduled for next week but that is now untenable for Inter and for Serie A, a league which hasn’t had a European champion since Jose Mourinho guided the Milan giants to the treble 15 years ago.
The league had earmarked Thursday as the new date for Napoli and Inter’s matches so that a play-off could be scheduled for the weekend, but Napoli and broadcaster DAZN were reportedly against the idea and that led to the choice of Friday for their final league matches and Monday for any play-off.
However for a play-off to happen Napoli would have to lose on Friday, unlikely against a team with nothing to play for, and Inter draw at Como.
Inter have the harder task on Friday as Como have taken 20 points from their last eight fixtures and are on course to finish 10th, their highest placing since ninth — albeit in a 16-team league — in 1986.
Juventus need one more win to hold off Roma and Lazio and secure the fourth and final Champions League spot. Igor Tudor’s team head on Sunday to Venezia who are 19th and one of five teams battling against relegation on the final day.