Napoli’s hopes of playing European football next season suffered a setback as they endured a frustrating 1-0 defeat at lowly Empoli that left them eighth in Serie A on Saturday.
Empoli, who are battling relegation, opened the scoring after four minutes when striker Alberto Cerri headed in a close-range cross for what proved to be the winner.
Serie A is set to secure at least five spots in an expanded Champions League competition next season but Napoli have taken only five points from their last five league matches.
Napoli stay on 49 points, three points off Lazio in sixth, six points behind AS Roma, in fifth with two games in hand, and 10 adrift of fourth-placed Bologna, who visit Roma on Monday.
Empoli are 15th with 31 points, four points clear of the drop zone.
“Clearly, Napoli had notorious problems this season. I honestly did not expect to find the situation like this,” the Naples club’s coach Francesco Calzona told DAZN.
Credit: reuters.com
