Serie A: Napoli held back again by Parma, Inter fail to take advantage

After many scares, Napoli retainedthe lead in Serie A despite their 0-0 draw at Parma on Sunday, one point ahead of Inter with one matchday remaining. This remains the status quo after many upheavals. The 2025 Italian championship title will be awarded on the 38th and final matchday, which, initially scheduled for next weekend, could be brought forward to Thursday.

In this season of unprecedented uncertainty, the 2025 Scudetto could be awarded in a rare replay between Inter, PSG's opponent in the Champions League final on May 31, and Napoli if they finish level on points at the end of the season. Napoli still have the upper hand: if they beat Cagliari at home, they will be crowned Italian champions for the fourth time, regardless of Inter's result in Como.

But Antonio Conte's team has come a long way. Unable to find the back of the net against the lowly Parma, they virtually dropped back to second place on two occasions, when Inter led 1-0 against Lazio thanks to Yann-Aurel Bisseck (45th + 1), then 2-1 thanks to Denzel Dumfries (79th). But the Nerazzurri conceded a penalty in the 90th minute, converted by Pedro, who had already scored Rome's first equalizer (72nd).

"We're close to the title, but there's still a game to win in front of our fans, in our stadium, this season is really difficult," Conte stressed. "We're capable of doing something truly incredible," he insisted. It's not just the title race that remains undecided before the final match of the season. Juventus Turin are clinging to 4th place (67 pts), the last qualifying spot for the Champions League thanks to their 2-0 victory against Udinese.

Igor Tudor's team is just one point ahead of AS Roma (5th, 66 pts), who won 3-1 against AC Milan, returning to the Stadio Olimpico four days after their 1-0 defeat in the Coppa Italia final against Bologna. Milan dropped to 9th place and lost their last hope of participating in European competition next season. In addition to Roma, Lazio (65 pts) can still believe in it, with their three-point lead over Fiorentina (7th, 62 pts), who beat Bologna (8th, 62 pts).

At the bottom of the table, too, we'll have to wait until matchday 38 to find out who will join Monza, already relegated, in the second division. After a 3-0 defeat at Cagliari, Venice is 19th with 29 points, two points behind the first non-relegation team, Lecce, who escaped the danger zone with a 1-0 victory over Torino. Empoli, who won 3-1 at Monza, is 18th with the same number of points as Lecce (31 points).