Napoli lost 1-0 against Roma to hand Juventus the title in what was a rather dull game at the Stadio Olimpico.
Although the two teams have the best goalscoring records in Serie A this season, the game was not decided until the last minute when Radja Nainggolan fired home from just outside the box to win it for the home side. Napoli are now unable to catch Juventus at the top of Serie A, with the Bianconeri claiming their fifth title in as many years. Roma meanwhile are now just two points behind Maurizio Sarri’s side, with three games to go in the race for second place.
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The Juventus hater wins it for the Bianconeri
Roma and Juventus are not the best of friends. They have been at the top of Italian football in recent years, battling it out for Serie A glory and nobody epitomises the rivalry more than Nainggolan. The Roma midfielder only joined the club two years ago, but he has bought into the mentality at the capital. In several interviews, Nainggolan has rubbished speculation linking him with a move to Turin and most recently two weeks ago, the fiery midfielder claimed that he would never wear the Bianconeri shirt.
But the 27-year-old will be the toast of Turin after his winner against Napoli ensured a fifth straight title for the Old Lady. In fairness, Juventus were always going to win Serie A after their dramatic victory against Fiorentina at the weekend, yet Nainggolan made it offical. For Roma, questions remain over the future of their prize midfielder with Antonio Conte keen on him for his Chelsea setup. What is definite is that Nainggolan will not end up at Juve this summer, even if he has confirmed their latest Scudetto crown.
Higuain back but cant reignite Napoli
When Napoli fans look back at this season they will perhaps view their trip to Udinese as the moment they lost hope for an elusive crown. Not only did they lose further ground on the imperious Juventus, but they also saw their star striker Gonzalo Higuain banned for an initial four games for an angry reaction to being sent off, although on appeal it was reduce to three matches meaning he could play against Roma. Yet by the time the Argentinian striker made his return at the Stadio Olimpico, Napoli had only the slimmest chances of capturing the title. They had to win at Roma just to keep the dream alive.
Higuain would have though gone into the game full of confidence given his 30 Serie A goals this season and with the Giallorossi not keeping a clean sheet in their last nine games. Although the striker showed glimpses of his best, he did look rusty and lacked match fitness. Napoli did not create too many chances and the Argentinian forward snatched at the glimpses of goal he did have. Despite controlling much of the game, the visitors were caught with a sucker punch in the final minutes to see their faint Scudetto dreams disappear for good. Higuain and company have much to look back at and smile about this season, but they may well rue their costly defeat in Udine at the beginning of April.
Juve easily best team in Italy
The match between Roma and Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico needed no building up. An intense rivalry was heightened by Partenopei needing to win to stay in the Scudetto hunt and Roma five points behind them hoping to pip them to second place by the end of the season. Yet the game itself was a disappointing. Neither side were anywhere near their best and both were unable to break the other down. The gap between these two and Juventus is clear for everyone to see.
The difference between the Bianconeri and the chasing pair goes beyond the 12 and 14 points Napoli and Roma are behind the deserving Serie A champions. Juventus have a wining mentality that both sides must envy. After a sluggish start to the season, they are unbeaten in 25 games, collecting 73 out of 75 points in that time. Meanwhile, Napoli have only won once away from home since February. Roma, it has to be said, are on an unbeaten run of their own, 13 games under new coach Luciano Spalletti. But even within that steak the Giallorossi have dropped points to the likes of Bologna and Atalanta. There is much encouragement for both Napoli and Roma going into the summer break, but they will need more than a few new recruits to topple the mighty Juventus.
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