Runaway league leaders Napoli are 19 points clear of closest challengers Lazio after Gallo’s unwitting backpass from a Mario Rui cross slipped through the fingers of surprised Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone midway through the second half.
The hosts had been deservedly level with Napoli at the Stadio Via del Mare after Federico Di Francesco’s powerfully struck finish cancelled out Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s 18th-minute header.
Di Francesco’s second league goal of the season was his team’s first since mid-February and had a tired-looking Napoli at risk of slipping to another defeat after being hammered 4-0 by champions AC Milan last weekend.
Instead, Lecce stay eight points above the relegation zone in 16th while Napoli take another step towards a historic Scudetto with their seventh straight league away win, earned without top scorer Victor Osimhen.
“It wasn’t easy getting the result after that defeat (to Milan)… this result gives us some comfort ahead of the coming matches,” Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti told DAZN.
Nigeria forward Osimhen might be back for Wednesday’s first leg of the all-Italian quarter-final with third-placed Milan — who face Empoli in Friday’s late match — but they look to have lost his replacement Giovanni Simeone to a thigh injury suffered late on.
“Osimhen wants to play every match… but these are situations that need to be assessed properly,” added Spalletti.
“Right now he needs to do some proper training because all he’s done is some basic running.”
As it stands Spalletti’s team only need four more wins from their final nine matches to secure the title but they will need a better display if they are to combine domestic success with passage to the Champions League last four.
That target will get smaller if Lazio fail to beat Juventus, although it will be all change if Juve have their 15-point penalty for illicit transfer activity revoked later this month.
Juve are 11 points behind Lazio ahead of their clash at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday night.
Lukaku off target
Romelu Lukaku’s miserable return season at Inter Milan continued with more missed chances which led to a late 1-1 draw at Salernitana.
Antonio Candreva flashed a miscued cross over the head of bemused Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana in the final minute to move Salernitana 10 points above the relegation zone and leave Inter at risk of being knocked out of the Champions League positions.
Wasteful Inter would have been out of sight before old boy Candreva’s fortuitous strike had they made the most of their opportunities after Robin Gosens netted their first goal from open play in a month in the sixth minute, with Lukaku the worst culprit in Salerno.
Lukaku, who was racially abused by Juventus fans midweek, headed a simple opportunity straight at Guillermo Ochoa in the first half.
And he somehow managed to scoop a diving header onto the bar from inside the six-yard box in the 65th minute before Ochoa brilliantly kept out Stefan De Vrij on the rebound.
Long-time Mexico goalkeeper Ochoa had already denied Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Denzel Dumfries with smart stops seconds before Lukaku’s blunder, which comes after his incredible miss in last week’s home loss to Fiorentina.
“Our big regret is that we couldn’t get that second goal, right now we keep paying a heavy price for not killing matches off,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi.
Fourth-placed Inter are 23 points behind Napoli and head to Benfica for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday winless in six and in the midst of a goalscoring crisis.
Inzaghi’s side are level on 51 points with local rivals Milan and one ahead of Roma, who are at Torino on Sunday, while Atalanta can also moved above Inter on goal difference if they beat Bologna.
AFP
