Napoli close in on Juve before key clash
SERIE A LEADERS HELD BY CROTONE AS NAPOLI WIN AT UDINESE TO STAND 4 POINTS BEHIND
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Crotone on Wednesday, denying them the chance to clinch a seventh successive Serie A title this weekend against closest rivals Napoli.
Juventus were leading 1-0 at Crotone and, with Napoli losing against Udinese, knew if results stayed the same, a win on Sunday would hand them the crown with four matches remaining.
But Simy equalised for Crotone and Napoli beat Udinese 4-2 to instead close the gap to four points.
“A month and a half ago I would have happily signed a paper to arrive at the match against Napoli with a four-point advantage,” Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. “It will certainly be a great battle on Sunday and I wouldn’t sign for a draw. We have to play to get the maximum points, winning would be a great step forward. Whatever happens though, the championship won’t finish Sunday.”
Elsewhere, the battle for the Champions League places heated up as Roma and Lazio both won to remain third and fourth, respectively, on the same number of points.
They are one point above fifth-place Inter Milan. The top four from Serie A qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.
Napoli’s title hopes diminished on Sunday when they was held to a 0-0 draw at AC Milan.
And Maurizio Sarri’s side endured another setback when Jakub Jankto tapped in to give Udinese the lead four minutes from half-time on Wednesday.
Lorenzo Insigne levelled moments later but teenager Svante Ingelsson restored Udinese’s advantage 10 minutes into the second half.
But news of Crotone’s equaliser filtered through to the home fans and that seemed to inspire Napoli as Raul Albiol headed in a corner to put Napoli back on level terms.
Napoli took the lead for the first time in the match in the 70th. Albano Bizzarri parried Jose Callejon’s effort but the ball fell straight to Arkadiusz Milik, who slotted it into an empty net.
Lorenzo Tonelli headed in another corner five minutes later to seal the win.
“We wanted this win, we’re four points behind Juventus and now we have to go to Turin with the right mentality,” Insigne said. “Against Juventus it will be 11 against 11, today we gave a huge sign that we have heart and determination, we have to show that on the pitch Sunday too.”
Spectacular goal
Douglas Costa had set up all three goals for Juventus on Sunday and he was again the provider in the 16th minute with a perfect cross from the right for Alex Sandro to head the Bianconeri in front.
However, Crotone levelled in spectacular fashion in the 65th through an audacious overhead kick from Simy — a similar goal to Cristiano Ronaldo’s in the Champions League against Juventus.
It was a valuable point for Crotone, who inched a point from safety. Lazio fought back from two goals down to win 4-3 at Fiorentina after a frantic start which saw two red cards and a goal in the first 16 minutes.
Fiorentina goalkeeper Marco Sportiello was sent off in the seventh minute for handling the ball outside the area and Lazio’s Alessandro Murgia followed him after bringing down Federico Chiesa who was clear through on goal. Jordan Veretout scored from that free kick and converted a penalty but it was all level at half-time after goals from Luis Alberto and Martin Caceres.
Veretout completed his hattrick after the break but Felipe Anderson levelled again for Lazio in the 69th and Luis Alberto doubled his tally four minutes later.
Roma remained above Lazio thanks to a better head-to-head record after beating Genoa 2-1.
Torino held AC Milan to a 1-1 draw despite Andrea Belotti hitting the bar with an early penalty.
Giacomo Bonaventura fired Milan into the lead shortly afterward but Lorenzo De Silvestri levelled in the 70th.
Milan remain in the final Europa League berth, two points above Atalanta, who won 3-0 at last-place Benevento with teenager Musa Barrow netting his first Serie A goal.