Whoever said Italian football is boring?
Away in Turin last night against arch rivals Juventus — where the Old Lady had not lost a league game since last October — Napoli claimed a historic 1-0 win after Kalidou Koulibaly's 90th-minute header powered past Gianluigi Buffon (oh not again, poor Gigi).
Not only had Napoli just beaten an almost impenetrable Juve side in their own backyard, but they had also blown the Serie A title race wide open with four games remaining.
Maurizio Sarri's side are now only one point behind leaders Juve — who are chasing a record-setting seventh successive Scudetto — with the Old Lady still having to play away at Inter Milan and AS Roma.
With the hope of a first Napoli title win since 1989/90 still very much alive, delirious Neapolitans ensured the revelries weren't limited to those in the Allianz Stadium in Turin. As well as taking to streets of Naples, setting off fireworks and diving into the Piazza Trieste e Trento fountain, thousands of fans flocked to Naples International Airport to await their heroes' return.
With a reported 18,000 Napoli fans at the airport, their team's flight had to be delayed by 90 minutes as local authorities tried to manage the crowds. And despite landing at 1.30am, it was gone 4am before the players and coaching staff could exit the airport.
Even then, mopeds and cars trailing Napoli scarves and flags accompanied them on the drive back to the training ground. In the words of Sir Alex Ferguson: “Football, bloody hell.”
