Napoli draw puts Juventus coronation on hold
Juventus forced to wait at least another week to celebrate their eighth successive Serie A title after second-placed Napoli draw 1-1 at home to 10-man Genoa.
Napoli's Dries Mertens celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates against Genoa at the Stadio San Paolo, Naples, Italy - April 7, 2019.
Napoli drew 1-1 with ten-man Genoa on Sunday to ensure that Juventus will have to wait another week to seal an eighth consecutive Serie A title.
The champions have a 20-point advantage on second-placed Napoli, who they have beaten in both their head-to-head clashes, with seven games to go.
Juventus, who beat AC Milan 2-1 on Saturday, needed Napoli to lose to win the Scudetto for the 35th time, ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Ajax next week.
A draw next weekend at lowly SPAL would be enough for Massimiliano Allegri's side to win the title which would be the first in Italy for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Despite their numerical advantage, Napoli struggled to contain the visitors who inflicted the only league defeat this season on Juventus last month.
Genoa went a man down when Stefano Sturaro was sent off on 28 minutes following a VAR review for a diving studs-up tackle on Allan.
Dries Mertens blasted in the opener on 34 minutes, but Darko Lazovic pulled Genoa level just before the break.
Napoli's Belgian forward Dries Mertens (R) controls the ball ahead of Genoa's German defender Koray Gunter during the Italian Serie A football match Napoli vs Genoa on April 7, 2019 at the San Paolo stadium in Naples.
Genoa goalkeeper Ionut Radu ensured his 14th-placed side went away with a point with a string of fine saves including two late on from Mertens and Kalidou Koulibaly.
"It's a wake-up call, if we play like this in London, then we're in trouble," said Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti ahead of next week's Europa League game against Arsenal.
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