BINH DUONG
Napoli officially won the Serie A championship for the first time since 1990 after a draw with Udinese in round 33 in the early morning of May 5.
Napoli on the day they officially won the Serie A championship. Photo: Anadolu Agency
The 1-1 draw with Udinese helped Napoli gain 80 points, 16 points more than second-placed Lazio with only 5 rounds left. Thanks to that, coach Luciano Spalletti's team won the championship 5 rounds early.
Napoli could have won Serie A even sooner if they had beaten Salernitana in the previous round. By holding Napoli to a 1-1 draw, Salernitana delayed their opponents' championship celebrations. However, Udinese were unable to stop Napoli in this round despite scoring early. Sandi Lovric opened the scoring for Udinese in the 13th minute and it was not until the 52nd minute that Napoli equalized through striker Victor Osimhen, which was also a historic goal.
Osimhen, along with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and coach Spalletti, have become the new heroes of Napoli. For the first time in history, Napoli's Serie A championship does not bear the mark of the late legend Diego Maradona, the striker who played for Napoli from 1984-1992. Coach Spalletti has built Napoli into a powerful team with a modern and liberal playing style.
Napoli's powerful and fast-paced style of play has been analysed by experts over the past few months. "Napoli play with maximum intensity, press high and have sharp counter-attacks. They are very different to the usual Italian teams," Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner once commented. Napoli always apply fierce pressure all over the pitch. Their aim is to win the ball back as quickly as possible after losing it to maintain pressure on the opponent.
Napoli under Spalletti have maintained a consistent performance throughout the season. They have led the title race since the beginning of the season, including a 15-match unbeaten streak that lasted until January 2023. So far, Napoli have won 25 matches, drawn 5 and lost 3. The team has scored 69 goals and conceded only 23, the best results in the league after 33 rounds. It can be said that Osimhen's goals have helped Napoli reach the championship title. The Nigerian striker is currently the top scorer in Serie A this season with 22 goals in 27 appearances. Osimhen has even broken Samuel Eto'o's record (21 goals) to become the African player with the most goals in a Serie A season.
Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia are proving to be two of the most exciting pairings in European football right now. Kvaratskhelia has been Napoli's most exciting revelation with 12 goals and 10 assists in the domestic league.
This is only the third time Napoli has won the Scudetto, but the first time in 33 years since the generation of Maradona, Careca, Ciro Ferrera, Gianfranco Zola won the title in the 1989-1990 season. This is the longest time between two titles in Serie A history, only behind AS Roma with 41 years when they won the championship in 1942 and 1983. The first Serie A championship title of this southern Italian city also belonged to the generation of Maradona, in the 1986-1987 season.
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