Napoli won first Serie A title since Maradona played for the club

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen netted the equalizer in the 52nd minute after Sandi Lovrik had put Udinese ahead early.

Napoli captured the point needed to win their third Serie A title after 33 years, with five matches still to be played.

Not only did 11,000 Napoli fans watch the match inside the Udine stadium in northern Italy, but more than 5,000 fans who did not have tickets to enter the stadium watched the match from outside, news agency AFP reported.

The agency reported that more than 50,000 spectators watched the match on jumbo screens at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples.

“You always told me, ‘we want to win’ and now we have won. We all win together,” Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said before embracing Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi.

De Laurentiis took over the club in 2004 when Napoli was declared bankrupt, relegated to the third division.

“This is the coronation of a dream that has been in the works for 33 years,” De Laurentiis said. “It’s been a long process.”

In the 52nd minute, Osimhen headed in the rebound from a shot by Khvicha Kvartskhelia after a corner kick.

It was Osimhen’s 22nd goal in the league this season and 46th of his Serie A career, matching former AC Milan standout and current Liberian president George Weah as the top African scorer in Italy.

Napoli have dominated all season and were unbeaten in the league until losing to Inter in January. A 5–1 victory over Juventus nine days later left no doubt that this was Partenopei’s year.

Luciano Spalletti, who won the Coppa Italia twice with Roma, has become the oldest manager to win Serie A.

Spalletti and his team will surely have an emotional reception upon their return to Naples, where the partying will continue at least until their next home match against Fiorentina on Sunday evening.