Napoli’s Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday once they have been held to a 2-2 draw at dwelling in opposition to Genoa, establishing an exciting season finale with closest rivals Inter Milan only one level behind.
The hosts stay high with 78 factors, holding a slim lead over Inter, who gained 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining.
To make issues worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, battling an ankle damage, was pressured off simply minutes after the match started.
Scott McTominay delivered an ideal move into the field the place Romelu Lukaku removed his marker earlier than information his shot into the underside nook to offer Napoli the lead in the fifteenth minute.
Genoa got here close to scoring an equaliser on the half-hour mark as Andrea Pinamonti’s header from a free kick hit the highest of the crossbar.
Genoa levelled in the thirty second minute when Honest Ahanor’s header hit the bar, with Napoli keeper Alex Meret initially parrying it into the publish, just for the rebound to bounce off his physique and into the online for an personal purpose.
The sombre temper at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium lifted in the sixty fourth minute when Giacomo Raspadori drilled a screamer from close vary, restoring Napoli’s lead and sending the blue-and-white supporters right into a frenzy.
CALM URGED
However, a Johan Vasquez header six minutes from time silenced the gang as the realisation hit that the title race had been blown huge open once more.
McTominay urged followers to remain calm, reminding them that Napoli nonetheless maintain a slender lead in the title race.
“We have to stay calm, this is not the time to panic,” McTominay advised DAZN.
“Genoa are a strong team, they scored two good goals and we have to look at what we did wrong there.”
Napoli will go to Parma subsequent earlier than ending the season by internet hosting Cagliari, whereas Inter will subsequent play Lazio at dwelling earlier than travelling to Como for his or her last match.
“We’ve got to keep the same attitude we’ve had so far, because this is what got us here, so keep going with the same intensity and hard work that we’ve done every single day,” Raspadori added.
Published – May 13, 2025 03:45 am IST
