KEEPS NAPOLI HOPES ALIVE

Rome, March 19: Spanish defender Raul Albiol headed in the winner as a 1- 0 victory over Genoa on Sunday kept Napoli’s Serie A title hopes alive, closing the gap on leaders Juventus to two points.

Juventus’ march towards a seventh consecutive Italian title was stalled on Saturday by a goalless draw at struggling SPAL.

And Napoli seized the opportunity to revive their bid for a first league crown since 1990, after a 2- 4 defeat by Roma and a goalless draw at Inter Milan in their last two games had put Juve in control.

Maurizio Sarri’s side were pushed hard, with Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens both hitting the woodwork before Albiol broke through after 72 minutes at the Stadio San Paolo.

Sarri added that the international break had come at just the right time for tired Napoli captain Marek Hamsik, who limped off with a thigh injury after 20 minutes.

Behind the leading pair in the battle for Champions League football next season, Roma consolidated third place, 14 points behind Napoli, with a 2- 0 win over Crotone. Meanwhile, Inter Milan moved fourth — four points beind Roma — following a 5- 0 rout of Sampdoria with captain Mauro Icardi scoring four times to break through the 100- goal mark in Serie A.

Inter’s win pushed Lazio outside the Champions League places into fifth, after the Romans were held 11 at home by Bologna.