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Can Napoli Keep Up With Inter Milan In The Serie A Title Race?
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Can Napoli Keep Up With Inter Milan In The Serie A Title Race?

07/04/25 22:54

With seven games left in the Serie A, Napoli currently hold second place in the standings, still chasing champions elect Inter Milan. The fight for the Scudetto is still very much still on are here’s how Napoli can do it.

The Story So Far

Napoli started the season off strong before it even began, bringing in some great acquisitions in the summer transfer window. Romelu Lukaku, David Neres, Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour and Alessandro Buongiorno were the main ones to come through the doors and they have delivered for the club this season and then some.

It wasn’t without drama though as star striker Victor Osimhen demand a move away from the club but Napoli were turning down offers, seeking for more money. Eventually a loan move to Galatasaray conspired but all relations were lost in the process with the Nigerian expected to move away from Naples in the summer, Manchester United the rumour so far.

Once all the new arrivals had settled in, Napoli got off to an electric start to the campaign, sitting top of the table Antonio Conte picking up the Serie A Manager of the Month for September in just his second month in charge. Napoli went their first eight games without defeat and remained top of the table all the way until the 8th of December (Matchday 15) where Lazio handed them a 0-1 loss and saw them drop down to third.

A month went past and Napoli were able to regain their place at the top of the Serie A standing but they had some bad news to face. Hero at the club and one of the best wingers in the world, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, announced that he was leaving sunny North Italy for the French capital as he was to join Paris St-Germain in the January transfer window. Napoli looked all across Europe to find potential replacements, Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi, Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho and Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa the three main options but alas Napoli could muster up a deal for anyone in the short time they had remaining.

Napoli had held on for as long as they could but a defeat curtesy of Como in Matchday 26 (23rd February), Inter Milan had ousted them for top spot and despite their best efforts, Napoli have not been able to reclaim that place back yet. After 31 games Napoli still occupy second place with a record of 19 wins, four losses and eight draws. Those results have left them with a tally of 65 points, just three points behind current Scudetto favourites Inter Milan.

Conte might be getting his players to produce the most visually exciting football in the world but he is getting results. Gli Azzurri have the best defensive record across the Serie A, conceding 25 goals and averaging letting in 0.8 goals per match. They have kept 13 clean sheets, matching Inter Milan and held second in that regard to Juventus’ 15 so far.

Who Can Help?

The only one that has really made a proper impact in front of goal for Napoli this season has been Romelu Lukaku. Belgium’s all-time top goalscorer has produced 19 goal contributions, split into 11 goals and eight assists across his 29 Serie A appearances this season.

What is worrying for Napoli though is that in their list for the most contributions, winger Kvicha Kvaratskhelia is still third despite having left the club four months ago. However, Antonio Conte’s style of football is very much through a defensive mindset and Napoli have excelled in that department. Goalkeeper Alex Meret has been key to the success they as of right now. Over the course of 90 minutes, the 28-year-old has a save percentage of 69.7%, averaged 2.0 saves and conceded an average of 0.9 goal per match, on top of keeping 10 clean sheets.

With their centre backs having to face rotation through injury, Napoli have been amazing at keeping their defensive efforts high, making sure that whoever is absent is not sorely missed. Alessandro Buongiorno, Amir Rrahmani and Juan Jesus have all been solid, working well with Alex Meret in-between the sticks.

Remaining Matches

In the seven games that are left to play in the Serie A, Napoli will come up against opponents that average in 15th place. Wins in these matches are crucial to them as they can’t exclusively rely on Inter Milan to just drop off in form. However, Inter on the other hand have the pleasure of looking forward to opponents placed in an average of 9th/10th place. They will have to face tough sides like Bologna, AS Roma and Lazio. It should be those results where Napoli could see them drop points and close down on becoming Serie A winners for the second time in the last five years. Inter Milan do also have a UEFA Champions League campaign to focus on as well, facing Bayern Munich over two legs in the Quarter Finals, starting on Tuesday. Unfortunately for them, the more games, the higher risk of injuries and a higher risk in completely losing all form when they need it the most.

Can Napoli It?

Weighing up all the factors at play, it looks like Napoli could hold off those around them and overtake Inter Milan towards the end of the season. The tough run of games that Inter possess could see them struggle in putting up a fight domestically and the slightly easier fixture list Napoli have could let them go on another good spell like they were on before starting to draw more and more games.

Their next game is against relegation threaten Empoli at home so they should claim a vital set of three points next weekend but nothing is ever really predictable with Serie A football so only time will tell of Napoli can go the distance and be crowned the champions of Italy’s topflight.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Luca Testa

Lead Writer

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