Milan: Lorenzo Insigne stepped up to slot in a 98th-minute penalty as Napoli came from behind to beat Cagliari 2-1 on Sunday to guarantee they finish second in the Italian league this season behind Juventus.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have a 10-point lead on third-placed Inter Milan with three games left.
But they are a massive 16 points behind Juventus who had already won an eighth consecutive Serie A title with five games to spare.
“Keeping up with Juventus was honestly difficult,” said Ancelotti.
“Of course we lost the strong motivation because the gap was great, but second place satisfies us and the team will certainly be reinforced for next season.”
After a drab first half in Naples the hosts fell behind after Leonardo Pavoletti fired the Sardinians ahead after 63 minutes.
But Dries Mertens headed Napoli back into the game with just five minutes to go and in a dramatic finale the hosts were awarded a late penalty after consultation with VAR when Artur Ionita handled a Faouzi Ghoulam cross, and was sent off.
Insigne stepped up with the clock ticking to score and ensure that Napoli will finish runners-up for the second consecutive year.
Mertens now has 82 Napoli league goals — one more than club legend Diego Maradona.
Juventus and Napoli are already assured of Champions League football next season but the battle for the final two berths remains tight with six teams in the running.
Atalanta’s push for a first-ever berth in Europe’s top competition was boosted after a 3-1 comeback win over Lazio as rivals Roma were held 1-1 at Genoa.
“We believed in a Champions League place before, but now we believe in it even more,” said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
The side from Bergamo are just one point behind Inter Milan who were held to a goalless draw at Udinese.
Atalanta, who meet Lazio again in the Coppa Italia final on May 15 in Rome, next play Genoa before travelling to Juventus with their final league match against Sassuolo.
Roma missed the chance to close the gap after a 1-1 draw at Genoa and are now three points behind Atalanta in fifth. Torino are two points behind Roma in sixth after a 1-1 draw against Juventus on Friday. — AFP
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