Osimhen's Napoli move closer to Serie A title with dramatic win over Juventus

Osimhen's Napoli move closer to Serie A title with dramatic win over Juventus

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 22:58 - 23.04.2023

Serie A leaders Napoli took a giant step towards the title as they edged out Juventus in stunning fashion away from home to assume a 17-point lead at the top of the table.

Napoli are one step closer to clinching the Serie A title after a stoppage-time winner from Giacomo Raspadori earned a 1-0 win away to Juventus that extended their lead at the top of the standings to 17 points.

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Napoli saw their nearest rivals Lazio lose 1-0 to Torino at the start of the day and ended the evening by picking up three precious points against their fiercest rivals, Juventus. 

The Bianconeri now find themselves two points off second after their 15-point penalty was wiped out earlier in the week. 

The result means that if Napoli beat Salernitana at home next Saturday and Lazio fail to win away to Inter the following day, the Partenopei will end a 33-year-long wait for their third Scudetto.

How it happened

Both sides struggled to create clear openings in the first half but Serie A top scorer Victor Osimhen came to life after the break, clipping the post and squandering a couple of big chances, before Angel Di Maria and Dusan Vlahovic had goals chalked off for Juve late on.

Juventus managed to test Alex Meret with efforts from Juan Cuadrado and Arkadiusz Milik, while Federico Gatti left a flailing arm out at Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and left the Napoli winger on the floor clutching his head, but the referee didn’t intervene.

The visitors upped their intensity after the break and finally managed to sting the palms of Wojciech Szczesny as Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Di Lorenzo threatened early in the second half before Osimhen skimmed the woodwork and fired over from a good position.

The goal finally came when two Napoli substitutes combined to make the late breakthrough, Eljif Elmas picking out the unmarked Raspadori at the back post for a powerful volleyed finish.