March 30, (THEWILL)- Napoli’s nigh-impossible chances of retaining the Serie A title were further diminished on Saturday as they suffered a comprehensive 3-0 home defeat against Atalanta.
The defending champions now find themselves seventh in the table, five points adrift of UEFA Champions League places with eight games remaining. Prior to kick-off, Napoli players knelt in solidarity with teammate Juan Jesus after a judge cleared Inter Milan’s Francesco Acerbi of alleged racial insults towards the Brazilian earlier this week.
However, the gesture did little to inspire Francesco Calzona’s charges as Atalanta raced into a two-goal lead before half-time through strikes from Aleksei Miranchuk and Gianluca Scamacca.
Despite hitting the woodwork twice in quick succession after the break, Napoli lacked a cutting edge in the final third with Victor Osimhen unable to find the back of net from a handful of attempts. Atalanta put the result beyond doubt in the 88th minute when Teun Koopmeiners calmly slotted home to seal a pivotal three points for the visitors.
The defeat leaves Napoli with an uphill battle to secure Champions League qualification, let alone retain their Serie A crown. Atalanta, meanwhile, leapfrog the champions to climb to sixth and strengthen their European aspirations.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
