Juventus defeated by Napoli and Inter strolls towards the title

This Sunday, Juventus further paved the way for Inter Milan to clinch the Italian title by losing 2-1 at the stadium of the reigning champions, Napoli, in the 27th round of the competition.

Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put the hosts ahead at the 43rd minute, and the visitors seemed poised to at least salvage a draw when Federico Chiesa equalized at the 81st minute. However, Giacomo Raspadori secured the victory for Napoli at the 88th minute, following up on a penalty taken by Nigerian Victor Osimhen.

Juve, which has won only one of its last six league games, remained in second place in the competition but could see Inter Milan extend their lead at the top of Serie A to 15 points when they conclude the round on Monday, hosting Genoa.

The Turin team also found AC Milan, in third place, just a scant point behind, while Napoli, far from the brilliance shown last season, moved up to seventh place, nearing the European qualification zone in the standings.

Atalanta fell behind in the race for the coveted fourth place, losing 2-1 at home to Bologna their second consecutive defeat, also breaking a streak of seven consecutive home wins just three days before facing Sporting in the Europa League round of 16.

The home team initially took the lead in the 27th round match through Nigerian Ademola Lookman at the 28th minute, but the visitors turned the game around in the second half with goals from Dutchman Joshua Zirkzee at the 57th minute, from a penalty, and Scottish Lewis Ferguson at the 61st minute.

Atalanta not only failed to seize the fourth spot in Serie A, the last to qualify for next season's Champions League, now more firmly held by Bologna, but also fell to sixth place, five points behind the Bolognese, as they were overtaken by Roma in fifth place.

Atalanta faces Sporting on Wednesday, in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16, at the José Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, where they have already won this season 2-1, during the group stage of the second-tier European club competition. The second leg is scheduled for March 14th, in Italy.

Also today, Cagliari secured a 1-0 victory in Empoli but remains in the relegation zone (18th place), level on points with Verona (17th and the first team above the relegation line), which lost 1-0 at home to Sassuolo (19th), marking a promising debut for Davide Ballardini, the new coach of the visitors.