Napoli sealed their first Serie A title in 33 years as Victor Osimhen’s strike earned a 1-1 draw against Udinese.
Having missed the chance to win the title in front of their own fans on Sunday, Napoli went into Thursday’s clash at Dacia Arena knowing a point would be enough to claim their first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era.
Fittingly, it was talisman Osimhen — with his 22nd league strike of the season — who scored the goal to claim Napoli’s third Serie A crown, cancelling out Sandi Lovric’s opener.
Unlike Napoli’s local rivals Salernitana, Udinese did not quite have the same commitment to postponing Napoli’s party, which is sure to be one for the ages.
𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗜𝗧’𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟! 🇮🇹🏆💙
For the first time in 33 years, Napoli are 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 of Italy once again!
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦.Congratulations @sscnapoli, 2022/23… pic.twitter.com/bna3bFgxjQ
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) May 4, 2023
Osimhen went close with a header just after the half-hour, though Napoli were fortunate that Lovric had been unable to beat Alex Meret for a second time at the other end a moment earlier.
Napoli’s number nine would not be denied again, though, and after Silvestri palmed out Kvaratskhelia’s low effort, Osimhen slammed home an equaliser seven minutes into the second half.
Osimhen thought he had made it 2-1 with 23 minutes remaining, only for the goal to be disallowed due to a foul in the build-up.
Luciano Spalletti’s tension on the touchline was clear but his team stayed calm on the pitch as they saw out a draw that will go down in their history.
— Ferdinand A Baah