Napoli won the Italian Football League title for the third time in its history, drawing with its host Udinese 1-1 Thursday in Udine, at the end of the thirty-third stage of the Italian Football Championship.

Napoli owes its point, which was sufficient for winning the third title after 1987 and 1990, to its top scorer and Nigerian international Victor Osimhen, who scored the equalizer in the 53rd minute, after Udinese was the first to score through Slovenian Sandy Lovric in the 13th minute.

Napoli strengthened its position in the lead with 80 points, 16 points ahead of its direct chaser Lazio, five stages before the end of the season.

The owner and president of the club since 2004, Aurelio De Laurentiis, commented, saying after the match, "It is a coronation."

He added, addressing more than 50,000 spectators who were present at the Diego Maradona stadium in Naples to follow the match on giant screens, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It is an achievement that crowns a 33-year wait."

"You always told us you wanted to win, we won, we won together! And now, big party against Fiorentina," the 73-year-old film producer, who took over a bankrupt and relegated club in 2004, told broadcaster Dazon. In the thirty-fourth stage match.

Napoli achieved what it failed to do in the last stage, when it was unable to win the three points to clinch the title, after losing its direct chaser, Lazio, to Inter Milan 1-3.

And Napoli only needed a draw after Lazio beat its guest Sassuolo 2-0 on Wednesday in the opening stage.
The southern team, Napoli, led by coach Luciano Spalletti, ended a 33-year wait, specifically since his achievement with his late Argentine legend Diego Armando Maradona, and put an end to the northern teams’ dominance in the league title since that season.

Spalletti won the title on the land of the team he supervised twice, in 2001 and between 2002 and 2005.

“Seeing Napoli fans happy is enough to give you the sense of joy they feel,” Spalletti said, on the verge of tears. “These people will look back on this moment when life gets hard, they have every right to celebrate in this way. You feel more comfortable when you know you gave them something.” This moment of happiness."

At the age of 64, Spalletti became the oldest coach to be crowned Italian champion, breaking the record of Maurizio Sarri, who was crowned in 2020 with Juventus at the age of 61.

And the southern team deserved the title, as it has the best attack with 69 goals, and the best line of defense, as it conceded only 23 goals, and it also owns Calcio’s top scorer so far, Osimhen, who has 22 goals.

The first attempt in the match was for Napoli, following a header by captain Giovanni De Lorenzo from close range, following a cross pass by the North Macedonian Elif Elmas (5).

But Udinese succeeded in opening the scoring when Lovric received a ball inside the area from Destiny Oduji, so he prepared it for himself and hit it powerfully with his right into the far left corner of goalkeeper Alex Merritt (13).

Lovric almost added the second goal with a powerful shot from outside the area, which Merritt saved in two waves (31).

Osimhen responded with a header from close range, which passed near the left post, after a cross pass to Elmas (32).

Osimhen managed to equalize at the beginning of the second half when he took advantage of a rebound from goalkeeper Marco Silvestri after a powerful shot by Georgian international Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from outside the area, so he prepared in front of the Nigerian international, who followed it from close range into the goal (53).

It is Osimhen's 22nd goal this season, consolidating his position at the top of the scorers' list.

Brazilian defender Rodrigo Picao almost gave Udinese the lead again with a powerful shot from outside the area, which was saved by Merritt (60).

Silvestri saved his goal from a second goal for the southern team when he blocked a shot "on the fly" from inside the area by Polish international Piotr Jelinski from inside the area before the defense dispersed it (72).

In a second match, Empoli revived his hopes of staying by beating Bologna with three goals by Colombian John Lukomi (1 mistake in his own goal), Ivory Coast Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (20) and Niccolo Campiagi (68) against a goal by Riccardo Orsolini (88 from a penalty kick).

Empoli strengthened its position in fifteenth place, with 31 points, compared to 45 points for ninth Bologna.