After a painful 1-0 loss at lowly Empoli on Saturday, which dropped them to seventh place in Serie A, Napoli’s ambitions of competing in Europe next season took a hit.

Victor Osimhen, a forward for the Super Eagles, played the entire game.

Alberto Cerri, a striker for Empoli, headed in a close-range cross after four minutes to give his team the lead. Empoli is now fighting for relegation.

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Although Napoli has only picked up five points from their past five league games, Serie A is expected to secure at least five berths in an expanded Champions League competition the following season.

With two games remaining, Napoli is still in fifth position with 49 points, six points behind AS Roma in sixth, three points behind Lazio in sixth, and ten points behind Bologna in fourth, who will be visiting Roma on Monday.

With 31 points, Empoli is in 15th place and four points above the drop zone. Following Cerri’s goal, Empoli controlled the majority of the first half and nearly doubled their lead when Nicolo Cambiaghi struck the post shortly before halftime.

In the second half, Empoli’s defenders held firm as Napoli tried to surge forward in search of an equaliser but were unable to create any clear openings.

Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, a winger for Napoli, nearly created an opening immediately after the hour mark by dribbling past many players, but his effort went over the crossbar.