PARMA, Italy (Reuters) -Napoli's hopes of securing the Serie A title on Sunday had to be put on ice after they were held to a 0-0 draw at Parma, leaving the title race to be decided on the final day of the season next weekend.
With second-placed Inter Milan also playing out a 2-2 draw against Lazio in a simultaneous kickoff, Napoli will head into their final match against Cagliari with a one-point advantage.
A win for Napoli on Sunday would have secured them the title if Inter had lost to Lazio.
Napoli's best chance to break the deadlock came just after the half-hour mark, when Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s volley struck the post.
Matteo Politano nearly put Napoli ahead in the second half as his cross grazed the top of the crossbar, while Scott McTominay’s free kick was brilliantly saved by Parma keeper Zion Suzuki.
News broke in the 90th minute that Lazio had equalised against Inter, putting Napoli back in control of the title race.
But as Napoli pushed desperately for a winning goal, emotions boiled over and their manager Antonio Conte and his Parma counterpart Cristian Chivu were both shown red cards after an apparent heated exchange on the touch-line.
Due to the red card, Conte will be in the stands for the final match of the season.
LAST MINUTE DRAMA
As the match drew to a close, Napoli fans erupted in loud celebration upon hearing that Pedro had equalised for Lazio, snatching two points from Inter, with their cheers rising deep into stoppage time when David Neres was brought down by Parma’s Mathias Fjortoft Lovik, with the referee initially awarding a penalty.
However, after a lengthy VAR review, the decision was overturned due to an earlier foul from Napoli in the buildup.
After the match, Napoli keeper Alex Meret admitted that emotions ran high in the final minutes as the situation rapidly shifted from one event to another.
"The last minutes were a rollercoaster, I saw the bench with sad faces, then luckily Lazio equalised and we tried until the end to take the lead," he told reporters.
"We know how to endure and fight, and we must remember where we started from, which should fill us with pride."
Napoli will host Cagliari while Inter will travel to in-form Como in the title-deciding final round next Sunday. If the two teams end up with equal points, the title will be decided by a playoff.
"There are tough opponents, like Inter, who are having an excellent season, but we must give ourselves credit and we have been good at not giving up. Now there is one last match to face, and we will be ready," Meret said.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Toby Davis)
