Napoli made a mess out of their Serie A trip to Empoli on Sunday evening when they let their 2-0 lead slip and lost 3-2 against a team fighting for survival.Napoli’s long-serving forwards Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne did their job and put the Campagna club 2-0 ahead but the shaky defence was the undoing of Luciano Spalletti’s team.Even though they were desperate for a win at the 14th-placed Empoli to solidify their third place in the Serie A standings, Napoli fell short once more after shipping three goals in just seven minutes.On their day, the Neapolitans have got one of the most potent attacking line-ups in the world. The trio of Insigne, Mertens and Victor Osimhen can keep just about any set of defenders on their back foot. This was one of those days.
Just before the break, Mertens swept the ball in to make it 1-0 and captain Insigne doubled the lead eight minutes into the second half. At that point, the Neapolitans were cruising and looking certain to win. But then their defence stepped in to turn their day at Stadio Carlo Castellani into a nightmare.Calamitous defence and an incredible Alex Meret blunder gave the visitors three goals in space of seven minutes, turning the scoreline from 0-2 to 3-2.
The rain was falling hard, Napoli players were arguing between themselves and blaming the referee, but this was Spalletti’s defeat.
Napoli’s chances of winning the title were slim already, but now appear nearly zero. They must find a way to get back to winning ways if they want to keep their third place and make it into the Champions League.SERIE A – ROUND 34SaturdayTorino – Spezia 2-1 (1-0)/Lukic 4 pen, 69 – Manaj 90+6 pen/Venezia – Atalanta 1-3 (0-1)/Crnigoj 81 – Pasalic 44, Zapata 47, Muriel 63/Inter – Roma 3-1 (2-0)/Dumfries 30, Brozovic 40, Martinez 52 – Mkhitaryan 85/Verona – Sampdoria 1-1 (0-1)/Caprari 78 – Caputo 44/SundaySalernitana – Fiorentina 2-1 (1-0)/Djuric 9, Bonazzoli 79 – Saponara 64/Empoli – Napoli 3-2 (0-1)/Henderson 80, Pinamonti 83, 87 – Mertens 44, Insigne 53/Bologna – Udinese 2-2 (1-1)/Hickey 6, Sansone 59 – Udogie 25, Success 46/19:00: (2.30) Genoa (3.20) Cagliari (3.60)21:45: (3.05) Lazio (3.35) Milan (2.50)Monday21:45: (4.50) Sassuolo (3.70) Juventus (1.87)***odds are subject to change***