Napoli back on track for Serie A title thanks to bizarre Lecce own goal

Napoli took another step closer to ending their 33-year wait for a Serie A title after they came away from Lecce with a 2-1 win thanks to a bizarre own goal from Lecce defender Antonino Gallo.

Luciano Spalletti’s side extended their lead at the top of the table to 19 points over second-placed Lazio, who play Juventus on Saturday.

Napoli, whose shock 4-0 loss to Milan last Sunday was only their third league defeat of the season, are within touching distance of winning the Serie A title for the first time since 1990 with nine matches remaining.

Napoli opened the scoring on 18 minutes when an unmarked Giovanni Di Lorenzo headed home Kim Min-jae’s cross. Lecce equalised seven minutes into the second half after Federico Di Francesco pounced on a rebound inside the box and sent the ball into the bottom corner.

Lecce’s momentum disappeared in the 64th minute when Gallo chested the ball back to keeper Wladimiro Falcone, who saw it slip between his gloves and into the net.

The match concluded another miserable week for Lecce, who have suffered six straight defeats in Serie A and are 16th, eight points above the relegation zone.

In the day’s other matches, Milan drew 0-0 at home to Empoli and Internazionale were held 1-1 at Salernitana.

In France, Lens beat Strasbourg 2-1 to provisionally cut Paris Saint-Germain’s once double-digit lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table to three points.

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Lens are second on 63 points, three ahead of third-placed Marseille, who travel to Lorient on Sunday. Strasbourg remain in 16th on 26 points.

This story will be updated