Napoli's Scudetto celebrations on hold as Salernitana earn late draw in Serie A
The party was ready in Naples but will have to wait for now after the Serie A leaders were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Salernitana
Napoli's 1-1 draw at home to Salernitana on Sunday means their long wait for a third Scudetto is not quite over yet.
Anticipation has been building all week in Naples and by the time they took to the pitch on Sunday, Luciano Spalletti's side knew they would be crowned champions if they could beat Salernitana.
Lazio's 3-1 defeat at Inter earlier on Sunday meant Napoli could not be caught if they won their fixture later in the day, but it had to be a win because in the event of a draw, they could technically still be reached by the Rome club and also by third-placed Juventus – in action away to Bologna tonight.
After a goalless first half, Giacomo Raspadori set up Mathias Olivera for the breakthrough with 62 minutes on the clock and it looked like that would be enough to see Napoli claim Serie A for the first time since 1990.
But Boulaye Dia had clearly not read the script. The Salernitana forward levelled with six minutes left to frustrate the home fans and spoil the party in Naples, for the moment at least.
Napoli now need just a point and will have another chance to wrap up their third Scudetto away at Udinese on Tuesday night.
Both of Napoli's previous Serie A titles came in Maradona's time as a player: in 1987 and 1990.
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Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.