Napoli 1 Salernitana 1
After 33 long years, Napoli fans had hoped that this would be the day when they would be crowned champions.
Lazio’s defeat to Inter in the lunchtime kick-off ensured the Partenopei had the chance to clinch the Serie A title in the stadium named after the man who starred in the club’s previous two Scudetto wins, the great Diego Armando Maradona.
Spurred on by an expectant and vociferous crowd, Napoli’s modern-day hero Victor Osimhen headed wide from Hirving’s Lozano cross within the opening two minutes.
The Nigeria international had to wait 20 minutes for the next chance to come his way, but when it did, he could only send his powerful header straight at Guillermo Ochoa.
The Mexico international was required again in the latter stages of the first half, pushing Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s strike away from danger, ensuring the score remained goalless at the interval.
Salernitana’s dogged performance in the first period highlighted the resilience that has led to them enjoying an eight-game unbeaten run prior to kick-off.
The visitors continued to frustrate their hosts in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, forcing Luciano Spalletti to turn to his bench, introducing Elif Elmas and Giacomo Raspadori.
Within 60 seconds of his arrival onto the hallowed turf, Raspadori curled a corner onto the head of Mathias Olivera, who nodded the ball into the bottom corner, sparking a scene of wild jubilation that had been 33 years in the making.
As the party started in the stands on the streets of Naples, the 11 men in the blue had to remain focused on the task at hand.
Unfortunately for the hosts, Dia was in the mood to cut the celebrations short, as he drove inside from the right flank to send an unstoppable strike past Alex Meret.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia attempted to find a late winner with a curling effort that was smartly stopped by Ochoa, ensuring the wait for the Serie A title will go on a little while longer.
While Salernitana end the day seven points clear of the drop, Napoli will have the chance to end their 33-year wait when they face Udinese on Thursday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Boulaye Dia (Salernitana)
Sassuolo 2 Empoli 1
The 10-men of Sassuolo stunned Empoli with two goals in the last 10 minutes, coming from behind to snatch a 2-1 victory against relegation-threatened Empoli.
With just one win in their last 12 matches, Empoli found themselves hovering above the relegation zone with just a six-point gap separating themselves and 18th-place Verona before kick-off.
Despite this, the visitors dominated the early stages and opened the scoring inside 11 minutes. Nicolo Cambiaghi picked the ball up on the halfway line and dribbled towards the Sassuolo box, turning two opposition defenders inside and out before clinically slotting the ball past Andrea Consigli.
The hosts began to grow into the game as the half went on, taking control of possession but couldn’t turn their domination of the ball into creating goal-scoring chances, with Empoli comfortably going into the break with their one-goal lead not being threatened.
In order to try and shake things up, ex-Empoli coach, now in the dugout for Sassuolo, Alessio Dionisi made a triple change, and the switches seemed to awaken his side as they played with much more intensity and showed the attacking intent lacking in the opening 45 minutes.
With 71% of the ball in the opening 25 minutes of the second half, Sassuolo were in total control but once again, they struggled to turn their domination of the ball into clear-cut chances as Empoli defended well.
Completely against the run of play the away side had the ball in the back of the net for the second time of the afternoon as Fabiano Parisi’s ball into the box was nodded in by Francesco Caputo, but the goal was ruled after the striker was found to be in an offside position.
Despite the reprieve for Sassuolo, any chance of a comeback became more difficult after Andrea Pinamonti was shown a straight red card. With 10 men, it looked like it was going to be a first loss in five at home for them. However, substitute Berardi popped up with a goal in the 83rd minute to salvage a late point for the home side.
The home side then completed the unlikely turnaround with a man down, when they were given the chance to seal all three points from the penalty spot in stoppage time. Berardi stepped up and fired the spot-kick into the back of the net to extend the winless run for Empoli on the road to seven.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)
Cremonese 1 Verona 1
Hellas Verona came from behind to rescue a crucial point in their bid to avoid relegation from Serie A, salvaging a 1-1 draw against 10-man Cremonese at the Stadio Giovanni Zini.
After exiting the Coppa Italia in midweek, no further distractions threaten Cremonese’s push for top-flight survival. Staying up has looked unlikely throughout the campaign, but recent back-to-back wins have fired them into contention and they were straight onto the front foot here.
It would take less than 10 minutes for that pressure to tell on Verona, as Fabio Depaoli’s weak back-pass was seized upon by David Okereke who made no mistake in handing La Cremo the lead.
Cremonese looked determined to double their lead as they controlled possession in a composed first-half display. Michele Castagnetti’s cross from the left provided Daniel Ciofani with the chance to do just that, but his glancing header was impressively shovelled around the post by Lorenzo Montipo.
A big let-off at one end handed Verona the initiative to search for a leveller, but they were limited to efforts from range which nearly proved fruitful when Giangiacomo Magnani’s rasping drive whistled over the bar.
Marco Zaffaroni’s men needed a big improvement after the break, and they were certainly able to establish a greater foothold on the match after the restart, enjoying much more of the ball without much penetration.
Cremonese already appeared content to hold onto their slender lead, but that task was made all the more difficult by half-time substitute Giacomo Quagliata, who was sent off for a moment of madness which saw him punch Pawel Dawidowicz in the chest.
It was all hands on deck for Davide Ballardini’s men, with Verona substitute Jayden Braaf spurning a huge chance to open the scoring as his close-range header was well saved by Cremo goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.
That save would preserve the lead for a matter of seconds though as the visitors finally levelled the score with 15 minutes left to play. Magnani’s cross to the back post was met by Simone Verdi who volleyed into the ground, with the bounce taking it over the despairing defenders and into the far corner.
Try as they might, Verona simply couldn’t find a winner and stayed inside the bottom three as a result, although they moved level on points with 17th-placed Spezia. It was a bruising afternoon for Cremonese though, who now sit seven points adrift of safety.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Simone Verdi (Hellas Verona)
