Napoli, who drew 1-1 away to Udinese in the 33rd week of Serie A, declared their championship after 33 years.
While the Italian Serie A 2022-2023 season continues to be a competitive struggle to qualify for the European Cups, the championship knot was solved in the 33rd week. Napoli, who postponed the celebrations with a 1-1 draw with Salernitana last week, faced Udinese away from home. The hosts took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute with Sandi Lovric’s goal. After the goal, Napoli increased their offensive activity and failed to score from the positions they entered, while the first half ended with Udinese’s superiority.
In the 52nd minute, Napoli scored the equalizer through Osimhen. After the goal, the fans in the away stand celebrated with blue-white flags. While there were no other goals in the match, Napoli, who reached 80 points, secured the championship ahead of Lazio with 64 points 5 weeks before the end of the league.
After finishing in second place in the 2015-2016, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons, when Juventus were champions, Napoli were crowned champions this time and won the 3rd title in their history.
The Blues, who started the season like a storm under coach Luciano Spalletti, suffered their first defeat in the Inter match (1-0) played in the 16th week. Napoli, which has been in the leadership seat in the league since the first weeks, entered the 2022 World Cup break with 13 wins and 2 draws. While being the strongest candidate for the championship with its effective football and efficiency in offense, it suffered 3 defeats in the league, all of which came from teams that were its direct rivals on the way to the top.
After losing 1-0 away to Inter, Napoli lost 1-0 at home to Lazio and 4-0 to Milan. The Blues, who decided their championship with 5 weeks to go this season, finished at the top of the league for the first time in 33 years. The name of Argentine legend Diego Armando Maradona, who passed away on November 25, 2020, and who was one of the architects of the 1986-1987 and 1989-1990 championships in Serie A, where he reached the happy end twice before, is kept alive in the stadium where Napoli plays its matches. After Napoli became champions by defeating Udinese, the blue-white fans celebrated the championship after 33 years with great enthusiasm.
The City Turned Blue-White
The fans, who have been painting the city of Naples blue and white and singing championship songs for days, followed the last away league match with excitement. While giant screens were installed at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, the city was completely focused on the match. After Osimhen’s goal, torches were lit and celebrations began with blue-white flags. The celebrations are expected to be extensive ahead of Napoli’s home game against Fiorentina on Sunday, May 7.
Top Scoring Team
Having become the champion with an 18-point gap to its closest pursuer, Napoli also draws attention as the top scoring team in the league. The Blues have scored 69 goals in 33 matches and Victor Osimhen has scored 22 goals in 27 matches. The Nigerian striker is also the top scorer in the league. Georgian player Kvhicha Kvaratskhelia, who was transferred this season, has made a name for himself with his football and scoring contribution and played a role in Napoli’s rise to the top.
Kvaratskhelia contributed 12 goals and 12 assists in 29 matches. Napoli, who started the UEFA Champions League from the group stage, came out on top with 5 wins and 1 loss, scoring 20 goals in the opponent’s nets. The Blues, who scored 5 goals in two matches against E.Frankfurt in the last 16 round, could only score 1 goal against Milan, who were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Championship In 2nd Season With Spalletti
Luciano Spalletti, who took charge of the team at the beginning of the 2021-2022 season, started the season with a winning streak and collected 79 points with 24 wins, 7 draws and 7 losses and finished 3rd in the league. In his second season at Napoli, the Italian coach strengthened his squad and took the team to the top and reached the happy ending by opening the gap with his rivals.
The 64-year-old Spalletti previously won two league titles with Russian team Zenit, while he also won the Italian Cup twice at the helm of Roma.
