Napoli‘s hopes of securing the Serie A title on Sunday had to be put on ice after they were held to a 0-0 draw at Parma, leaving the title race to be decided on the final day of the season next weekend.
With second-placed Inter Milan also playing out a 2-2 draw against Lazio in a simultaneous kickoff, Napoli will head into their final match against Cagliari with a one-point advantage.
A win for Napoli on Sunday would have secured them the title if Inter had lost to Lazio.
Napoli‘s best chance to break the deadlock came just after the half-hour mark, when André-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s volley struck the post.
Matteo Politano nearly put Napoli ahead in the second half as his cross grazed the top of the crossbar, while Scott McTominay’s free-kick was brilliantly saved by Parma keeper Zion Suzuki.
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News broke in the 90th minute that Lazio had equalised against Inter, putting Napoli back in control of the title race.
But as Napoli pushed desperately for a winning goal, emotions boiled over and their manager Antonio Conte and his Parma counterpart Cristian Chivu were both shown red cards after a heated exchange on the touchline.
Due to the red card, Conte will be in the stands for the final match of the season.
“I was annoyed by Parma’s obstruction today, as I was used to English football, where there aren’t all these stops for cramp, injuries, pretending to be injured, so it irritated me and that’s why I was sent off,” Conte said.
“It irritates me, because you work all year to have a decisive match. I trust the staff and these lads, I above all trust the crowd at the Stadio Maradona.”
The most thrilling moment came deep into stoppage time. David Neres was brought down by Parma’s Mathias Fjortoft Lovik, with the referee initially awarding a penalty. However, after a lengthy VAR review, the decision was overturned.
Napoli will host Cagliari while Inter will travel to in-form Como in the title deciding final round next Sunday. If the two teams end up with equal points, the title will be decided by a playoff.
