Victor Osimhen and his Napoli teammates slipped to a 2-0 loss against Monza in Sunday Serie A game at the Stadio Brianteo.
Having won the Serie A title, the reigning champions was a shadow of themselves.
Only their fourth defeat in the Premier League this year came at the hands of Dany Mota and Andrea Petagna, a loanee from Napoli, putting an end to Luciano Spalletti’s team’s continued title celebrations.
Even though this match had minimal stakes, Spalletti made a few changes against mid-table opposition and will have expected more from his team.
Read Also:Napoli to increase Victor Osimhen salary
However, Raffaele Palladino’s Biancorossi will take great pride in claiming one of the biggest victories of their brilliant inaugural season in the top division.
A dull dead rubber seemed to be in store for the opening quarter of the match because Napoli were already crowned champions and Monza were guaranteed a spot in Serie A for the upcoming season.
But soon after, the hosts launched a cunning counterattack, and Mota scored the opening goal by taking full advantage of a confused defense.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa forced a terrific stop from Michele Di Gregorio shortly before halftime as the visitors searched for a reaction, but Napoli trailed at the break.
After the break, Petagna sprinted into the box to capitalize on a rebound and curl a shot past Pierluigi Gollini, into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Napoli kept putting Monza to the test, but attempts from Mathias Olivera and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were skillfully stopped, while Victor Osimhen had a penalty claim rejected.
Fans will be hoping that Napoli’s inability to recover from their unusual defeat was just a hangover after their Scudetto victory.