Lazio's Ciro Immobile (R) vies with Sassuolo's Ruan Tressoldi during a Serie A football match between Lazio and Sassuolo in Rome, Italy, May 3, 2023. (Photo by Augusto Casasoli/Xinhua)
ROME, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Lazio maintained their theoretical Serie A title hopes as they postponed Napoli's celebration by beating Sassuolo 2-0 on Wednesday.
The race for the Scudetto this season has been a foregone conclusion as Napoli had established an 18-point advantage over second-placed Lazio before the kick-off of the 33rd round. Mathematically, Lazio would see Napoli clinch the title even before their Thursday visit to Udinese had the Biancocelesti failed to wrap up a victory in Wednesday's game.
Off the back of two straight defeats, Lazio rebounded as they had broken the deadlock in the 6th minute, but Ciro Immobile had wandered offside in the build-up.
The home side eventually went ahead as Marcos Antonio's overhead pass found Felipe Anderson, who sprung the offside trap to finish with a low strike.
Lazio sealed the win in the dying minutes when Mattia Zaccagni rolled across for Toma Basic to tap in from close range.
With the win, Lazio still rank second with 64 points, 15 points behind Napoli, who would celebrate their third Serie A title should they collect a point on Thursday.
Dramatically, the contention for the Champions League places becomes more intense, as third-placed Juventus ended their poor run by defeating Lecce 2-1, Inter Milan climbed to fourth with a 6-0 drubbing over Hellas Verona, Atalanta moved to fifth thanks to a 3-2 slender victory against Spezia, while AC Milan and Roma dropped further after 1-1 ties against Cremonese and Monza, respectively.
From second-placed Lazio to seventh Roma, they were only separated by six points, especially Atalanta, AC Milan, and Roma were locked together on 58 points.
Elsewhere, Sampdoria suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Torino, while Salernitana and Fiorentina played out a 3-3 thriller. ■
Lazio's Adam Marusic (R) vies with Sassuolo's Domenico Berardi during a Serie A football match between Lazio and Sassuolo in Rome, Italy, May 3, 2023. (Photo by Augusto Casasoli/Xinhua)
Lazio's Toma Basic (L) celebrates his goal with his teammate Felipe Anderson during a Serie A football match between Lazio and Sassuolo in Rome, Italy, May 3, 2023. (Photo by Augusto Casasoli/Xinhua)
Lazio's Marcos Antonio (L) vies with Sassuolo's Davide Frattesi during a Serie A football match between Lazio and Sassuolo in Rome, Italy, May 3, 2023. (Photo by Augusto Casasoli/Xinhua)
Lazio's Felipe Anderson (L) celebrates his goal with his teammate Ciro Immobile during a Serie A football match between Lazio and Sassuolo in Rome, Italy, May 3, 2023. (Photo by Augusto Casasoli/Xinhua)
Lazio's Felipe Anderson (L) celebrates his goal with his teammate Ciro Immobile during a Serie A football match between Lazio and Sassuolo in Rome, Italy, May 3, 2023. (Photo by Augusto Casasoli/Xinhua)
