Napoli crowned Serie A champions following Udinese draw
- Planet Sport writer
- 5 May 2023
Napoli were crowned Serie A champions for the first time in 33 years following their 1-1 draw at Udinese where Victor Osimhen netted his side's all-important equaliser.
Napoli ended their 33-year wait for the Serie A title as Victor Osimhen’s second-half strike secured a 1-1 draw at Udinese to land a first Scudetto since the days of Diego Maradona.
Luciano Spalletti's side needed only a point in Udine to clinch their first league crown in a generation after missing the chance to finish the job against Salernitana on Sunday.
They looked set to stumble again when midfielder Sandi Lovric gave the hosts the lead after 13 minutes, but Napoli hit back through the Nigerian striker to ensure they landed the title for the first time since 1990.
Elsewhere in Serie A, Empoli beat Bologna 3-1 at home to ease their lingering relegation concerns, an own-goal in the first minute from defender Jhon Lucumi setting the hosts on their way before Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro and Nicolo Cambiaghi made sure of the result.
Riccardo Orsolini scored a late penalty to give Bologna consolation.
In La Liga, Europa League semi-finalists Sevilla all-but secured their place in the for division next season with a 3-2 win against Espanyol to move 10 points clear of the bottom three with five games to play.
Jose Luis Mendilibar's team looked to be in trouble when Espanyol struck twice in 14 minutes before half-time to cancel out Bryan Gill's early goal.
But a Luis Ocampos penalty and an 88th-minute strike from Pape Gueye made sure of a 3-2 win that means Sevilla can focus their attentions on overcoming Juventus in the Europa League last-four.
Girona kept their hopes of qualifying for Europe alive, Valentin Castellanos scoring six minutes from time to secure a 2-1 home win against Real Mallorca.
Vedat Muriqi looked to have robbed the hosts of two points when he levelled Bernardo Espinosa's first-half goal, but Castellanos struck late to keep up the pressure on the top six.
Real Betis beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 to ensure they stayed in pole position to take the last European spot, Willian Jose scoring the winner after only six minutes.
Valladolid remained in relegation trouble after Sergio Camello struck the decisive goal for Rayo Vallecano in a 2-1 home win.
