SSC Napoli’s recent run of form came to an end at Empoli with a 4-2 defeat in Serie A on Thursday, a severe dent to their hopes of qualifying for next year’s UEFA Champions League.
A fantastic finish to the first half saw Empoli go in at the break with a commanding 3-0 lead after goals from Massimo Maccarone and Riccardo Saponara, either side of a Miguel Angel Britos own-goal.
An own-goal by Empoli defender Vincent Laurini gave Napoli a foothold in the game, but another own-goal from Raul Albiol sealed the match for the hosts.
Photo: AP
Marek Hamsik scored a late consolation for Napoli, who remained five points behind third-placed AS Roma in the race for third place, with five matches remaining.
Their only route now into the Champions League appears to be winning the UEFA Europa League.
Empoli moved level with 14th-placed Udinese and are all but guaranteed to avoid relegation.
“It was a great satisfaction, we have beaten a great team,” said Maccarone after netting his 10th goal of the season. “We were missing a win against a big team to crown our amazing season. We have shown we deserve to stay in Serie A. Napoli were the team who were most in form at the moment. Here, there are so many young players, they make me feel young [at 35]. I’m only thinking about training, I feel good and I hope to be able to continue for a few more years. I’m enjoying myself.”
After a dismal run, Napoli had won three successive Serie A matches and were further boosted by reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League, but Empoli got off to the perfect start when Maccarone put them in front in the eighth minute, finishing off a beautiful team move by blasting Manuel Pucciarelli’s flick under Napoli goalkeeper Mariano Andujar.
Empoli doubled their lead in somewhat comical circumstances three minutes from halftime as Andujar punched away Saponara’s cross, but the ball hit Britos in the face and ricocheted into the back of the net.
The home side extended their lead moments later following a delightful one-two between Daniele Croce and Pucciarelli, whose shot was beaten away by Andujar, but only as far as Saponara, who fired in the rebound with a scissors-kick volley.
Napoli got back into the game shortly after the hour mark when Empoli goalkeeper Luigi Sepe — who is on loan from Napoli — parried Hamsik’s effort, but it bounced off Laurini and went in.
However, Napoli’s hopes of getting something from the match evaporated when Albiol netted his second own-goal in as many matches nine minutes from time, deflecting a free-kick into his own net.
Napoli grabbed a controversial consolation in stoppage-time as defender Kalidou Koulibaly appeared to be offside as he jumped to let Hamsik’s effort go into the bottom corner.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB