Napoli regained its balance and approached a new step towards the third title in its history and the first since 1990, with an unconvincing victory over its host Lecce 2-1 on Friday, in the opening of the twenty-ninth stage of the Italian Football Championship .

Giovanni Di Lorenzo (18) and Antonino Gallo (64 fouls against his team) scored the goals for Napoli, and Federico Di Francesco (52) scored the goal for Lecce.

The southern team returned to the winning streak after losing humiliatingly at home to its guest, Milan, last season's champion, by 4-0, achieving its 24th victory this season, so it moved away by 19 points temporarily in the lead against its direct pursuer, Lazio, who hosts Juventus on Saturday at the end of the stage.

And Napoli regained its balance at an appropriate time, specifically before its trip to Milan to face Milan in particular, next Wednesday, in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

"It was not easy to achieve this result after that defeat (against Milan) ... This result gives us some relief before the next matches," Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti told the streaming network "Dazon".

For his part, captain De Lorenzo said, "Against Milan, we were not in our day, but that does not change what we did. These are three important points, we continue our journey towards our dream."

Napoli played the second match in the absence of its top scorer and Nigerian international player, Victor Osimhen, due to a thigh injury.

"Osimhen wants to play every game, but these are situations that need a correct assessment," Spalletti said of his absence. "At the moment he needs to do some basic training because all he has done is run a little bit."

Lecce had the advantage at the start of the match and almost opened the scoring early through Moroccan midfielder Youssef Maleh with a shot from inside the area following a header by his colleague Federico Francesco. Goalkeeper Alex Merritt pushed it to a corner (8). The legislator is before him (9).

And Napoli succeeded in opening the scoring when South Korean international defender Kim Min-jae passed a cross from the right, which Di Lorenzo followed with his head from close range, and he placed it to the left of goalkeeper Vladimiro Falcone (18).

It is Di Lorenzo's second goal in the league this season.

Mexican international striker Hirving Losano almost added the second goal with a creeping shot from outside the area, which goalkeeper Falconi pushed into a corner (34).

And Lecce succeeded in equalizing at the beginning of the second half when Di Francesco took advantage of a rebound from the crossbar after a header by Gambian Assan Sisay from close range, so he prepared it for himself and hit it powerfully with his right from the same distance to the right of Merritt (52).

And Napoli regained its lead in the result, with a fatal mistake by goalkeeper Falconi, in catching a rebound from his defender, Gallo, after a cross by Portuguese Mario Roy from the left (65).

French defender Samuel Umtiti, on loan from Barcelona, Spain, almost equalized with a powerful shot from outside the area, which passed near the left post (73).

The North Macedonian, Elif Almas, missed the opportunity to deliver the final blow to the landowners when he received a ball on a platter of gold from De Lorenzo inside the area, which was blocked by goalkeeper Falconi (84).

And Milan, the defending champion, failed to take advantage of the land and public factors in order to confirm its great victory at its host, Naples, by falling into a goalless draw in front of its guest, Empoli.

Milan raised its tally to 52 points in third place and threatened to drop to fourth place if Roma (50 points) beat Turin on Saturday.

The situation of the second pole of Milan, Inter, was not better, as it fell into the trap of a draw in front of its host Salernitana 1-1.

Veteran Salernitana midfielder Antonio Candreva, 36, added to the tribulations of his former team, Inter, and prevented him from regaining the winning streak when he equalized (1-1) in his own net in the last minute.

Inter advanced with a goal to his German defender Robin Goossens (6), but Candreva, who defended the colors of Inter between 2016 and 2020, equalized with a deceptive cross pass (90).

Inter Milan continued bleeding points and failed for the fourth consecutive match in the league to win and sixth in various competitions after three consecutive defeats in the Calcio and two draws against its Portuguese hosts Porto, 0-0, in the second leg of the Champions League final, and Juventus 1-1 in the first leg of the semi-finals of the local cup competition. .

The disappointing tie will increase the pressure on coach Simone Inzaghi before the Lisbon trip to face Benfica, Portugal, on Tuesday, in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the prestigious continental competition.

Inter raised its tally to 51 points in fourth place and threatened to drop to sixth place if Rome and Atalanta (48 points) beat Bologna on Saturday.

Inter was the best party and could have scored more than one goal had it not been for the brilliance of the Mexican international goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who owes much to this tie.

"It's difficult to come and talk about the equalizer after all the chances we created. The serious problem is not scoring the second goal," Inzaghi said. "It's not a simple moment, but I have nothing to blame my players for."

And Inter scored first through Gouzens with a left-footed shot from inside the area, following a pass from Belgian international Romelu Lukaku (6).

Lukaku hit a powerful ball creeping from inside the area, which Ochoa blocked in two waves (23), then with difficulty pushed Argentine Joaquin Correa's header from close range, following a cross pass from Gouzens (32).

Salernitana's first dangerous opportunity was after a powerful, creeping shot by Mali's Lassana Coulibaly from outside the area, which was blocked by Cameroonian international Andre Onana (43).

Ochoa removed Lukaku's header from the goal (45 + 2).

Inter continued his advantage in the second half and denied the right post, Nicolo Barella, from reinforcement at the beginning of the second half, by returning his powerful shot from outside the area (49).

And Onana turned a cross from Candriva at a suitable time to a corner before it hit his own net (58).

The Armenian international, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, tried his luck with a shot from outside the area, which Ochoa sent to a corner (63), through which Lukaku almost strengthened the progress with a header from close range, hit the crossbar and prepared in front of the Dutchman Stefan de Vree, who followed it with his head, but Ochoa removed it from the goal line (65).

Senegalese international substitute Boulay Dia almost equalized with a shot from close range, following a cross by Candreva, but the ball bounced off the crossbar and was dispersed by the defense (72).

Ochoa continued his brilliance by brilliantly saving the Argentine international substitute, Lautaro Martinez (82).
Dia responded with a shot from close range in the hands of Onana (83).

Lukaku hit a powerful, creeping ball from inside the area, which was pushed away by Ochoa (86).

And Candreva did it in the last minute with a deceptive cross pass from the right, which was placed in the far right corner of goalkeeper Onana (90).