Napoli Misses Out On Europe After Goalless Season Finale Against Lecce

Napoli's hopes of securing a spot in European competitions next season were dashed after a goalless draw against Lecce in their final Serie A match on Sunday. Despite a spirited second half, Napoli could not break through Lecce's defence, even with 24 shots, five of which were on target.

In the second half, Jens Cajuste nearly scored with a low strike that hit the far post, and Cyril Ngonge rattled the crossbar in the 64th minute. Earlier in the game, Patrick Dorgu gave Napoli an early scare by hitting Alex Meret's post just nine minutes in.

Napoli needed a win to climb to ninth place but finished below Torino due to their head-to-head record. Torino lost 3-0 to Europa League champions Atalanta. Torino could still earn a Europa Conference League play-off spot if Fiorentina defeats Olympiacos in the final on Wednesday.

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Napoli concluded the season with 53 points, marking their second-worst performance for a team that started as Serie A reigning champions in the three-point-per-win era. The only worse performance was by Milan in the 1996-97 season, who finished with 43 points.

Notably, this was the first time Napoli failed to score against Lecce at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after having scored in each of their previous 12 home matches against them in Serie A.