May 14, (THEWILL) – Napoli, the reigning Serie A champions, endured an unexpected defeat on Sunday, falling 2-0 to Monza at Stadio Brianteo.
Goals from Dany Mota and Andrea Petagna, who is currently on loan from Napoli, handed Luciano Spalletti’s side their fourth loss of the season, dampening their ongoing celebrations as title winners. Napoli made several changes to their lineup, and Spalletti would have expected a better performance from his team, despite the match holding little significance in the standings.
Raffaele Palladino’s Monza, however, will relish the victory as they claim one of the biggest scalps in their successful debut season in the top flight. The match started with a lacklustre dead rubber feel, but Monza ignited proceedings with a well-executed counter-attack, allowing Mota to capitalise on a disorganised Napoli defence and open the scoring.
Napoli pressed for an equaliser, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa forcing a great save from Michele Di Gregorio, just before half-time, but they headed into the break trailing. The situation worsened in the second half when Petagna claimed a rebound, darted into the box, and curled a shot into the bottom-left corner. Napoli continued to test Monza’s defence, but efforts from Mathias Olivera and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were well saved, while Osimhen’s penalty appeal was disregarded.
Napoli’s failure to mount a comeback resulted in a rare loss, leaving fans hopeful that it was merely a temporary setback after their Scudetto triumph. Monza will face Sassuolo in their next Serie A fixture on Friday, while Napoli will host Inter Milan next Sunday.
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.
