Napoli have won their first Scudetto since 1990 after Victor Osimhen’s second-half goal secured a 1-1 draw at Udinese on Thursday night.
They came within six minutes of securing the title on Sunday, but drew with Salemitana , meaning that Lazio had a mathematical chance to overtake the runaway leaders. That chance has now disappeared, with Napoli’s lead now at 16 points with just five games remaining in the season.
Sandi Lovrić’s clinical finish from inside the penalty area on 13 minutes rocked Luciano Spalletti’s side, who struggled to create chances at the other end, although Osimhen threatened with a couple of first-half headers.
But when the Nigeria striker pounced 12 minutes after half-time, calmly side-footing in a rebound, it sparked celebrations among thousands of travelling Napoli supporters.
The US consulate issued a security alert last week, saying “spontaneous celebrations could last multiple days” and warned of “heavy traffic or road closures, significant use fireworks, and alcohol consumption throughout the city”.
Police had banned fireworks but that did not stop the Neapolitan sky being lit up as soon as the Udinese game was over. Authorities also banned car and scooter traffic from the city centre in the hope of minimising risk to public order.
Napoli have led the table for most of the season, producing the best and most entertaining football by some distance, spearheaded by Osimhen and the Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. They have lost three league games all season.
They also looked on course to go far in the Champions League before a surprise 2-1 aggregate defeatagainst Milan at the quarter-final stage.
