NAPLES: Napoli’s Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter Milan just one point behind.

The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining.

To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began.

Antonio Conte’s team’s destiny is still in their as two wins against Parma and Cagliari will secure the Scudetto. Inter, meanwhile, will next play Lazio at home before travelling to Como for their final match.

Napoli midfielder Scott McTom­inay urged fans to stay calm, reminding them that Napoli still hold a narrow lead in the title race.

“We have to stay calm, this is not the time to panic,” McTominay told DAZN. “Genoa are a strong team, they scored two good goals and we have to look at what we did wrong there.”

McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got rid of his marker before guide his shot into the bottom corner to give Napoli the lead in the 15th minute.

Genoa came close to scoring an equaliser on the half-hour mark as Andrea Pinamonti’s header from a free kick hit the top of the crossbar.

Genoa levelled in the 32nd minute when Honest Ahanor’s header hit the bar, with Napoli keeper Alex Meret initially parrying it into the post, only for the rebound to bounce off his body and into the net for an own goal.

The sombre mood at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium lifted in the 64th minute when Giacomo Raspadori drilled a screamer from close range, restoring Napoli’s lead and sending the blue-and-white supporters into a frenzy.

However, a Johan Vasquez header six minutes from time silenced the crowd as the realisation hit that the title race had been blown wide open again.

The cheers will have rung around the blue and black half of Milan after the late leveller as Nicola Zalewski and Kristjan Asllani gave Inter just their second away win in eight Serie A matches under torrential rain.

“It’s not up to us, so all we can do is do our jobs. That’s what happened today,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi. “Now we’ve got a few days’ rest after the tour the boys have had recently.”

Inter could have done without more drama after their epic Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona on Tuesday, but the match was barely underway when it was stopped as aid was rushed to a Torino supporter who had fallen from a stand.

An attritional match which Inter started with nine changes from their midweek triumph went in the away side’s favour in the 14th minute when Zalewski spun and curled home his first goal for the champions.

The game was stopped a minute from half-time as rain became a biblical downpour which left the pitch in Turin unplayable.

Even though the first half was completed following a short pause, the two teams then remained in the dressing rooms for over half an hour as the rain continued to pour.

Once back out, Asllani almost immediately doubled Inter’s lead with his second penalty in as many weeks, after Mehdi Taremi was brought down by Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

That goal was enough for Inter to claim the points and hand mid-table Torino a first home defeat of 2025.

Earlier on Sunday, Hellas Verona inched towards safety from relegation with a 1-1 home draw with fellow strugglers Lecce which moved Paolo Zanetti’s team five points above the drop zone.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025