Napoli's hopes of defending their Serie A title were dashed after a humiliating defeat at Diego Armando Maradona's home ground.
The defeat not only made Lazio the first away team to win in Naples this season, but also indirectly handed the championship to Inter Milan. Kevin De Bruyne and his teammates are now 12 points behind Inter, with only five matches remaining in the season.
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De Bruyne's dream of winning the Italian championship is shattered. |
Entering the match under pressure to win after Inter's victory over Cagliari, Antonio Conte's side had an incredibly slow start. As early as the 5th minute, Napoli's defense allowed Mattia Zaccagni and Kenneth Taylor to combine freely, creating an opportunity for Matteo Cancellieri to score from close range.
Despite their reputation for comebacks this season, Napoli were a disorganized team in the first half, unable to register a single shot on target against Edoardo Motta.
Things could have been much worse if goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic hadn't shone so brightly. He repeatedly denied chances from Nuno Tavares and, in particular, made an excellent save from Zaccagni's penalty. However, the Serbian goalkeeper's brilliance wasn't enough to compensate for a disjointed system.
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Rasmus Hojlund had a lackluster performance. |
In the second half, the same scenario repeated itself. In the 60th minute, following a cross from Noslin, Toma Basic was in the right place at the right time to capitalize on his teammate's missed shot, doubling Lazio's lead.
Alisson Santos's late efforts were too little to change the course of the game. Having failed to beat Lazio in both matches this season, Napoli only have themselves to blame as they watch the Scudetto slip away. Meanwhile, the valuable three points helped Maurizio Sarri's team climb back to ninth place.
Source: https://znews.vn/de-bruyne-tan-mong-vo-dich-italy-post1644654.html
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