Take Two! Naples Gears up Again for Huge Title Party

Football - Serie A - Napoli v Salernitana - Naples, Italy - April 30, 2023 General view of a Napoli banner hung from an apartment building before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Serie A - Napoli v Salernitana - Naples, Italy - April 30, 2023 General view of a Napoli banner hung from an apartment building before the match. (Reuters)
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Take Two! Naples Gears up Again for Huge Title Party

Football - Serie A - Napoli v Salernitana - Naples, Italy - April 30, 2023 General view of a Napoli banner hung from an apartment building before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Serie A - Napoli v Salernitana - Naples, Italy - April 30, 2023 General view of a Napoli banner hung from an apartment building before the match. (Reuters)

Napoli will open up the Diego Armando Maradona stadium on Thursday night for a live screening of their away game with Udinese when they hope to clinch the league title, local authorities said on Tuesday.

Napoli also expect as many as 10,000 fans to make the long trek to northeast Italy for a match when a point will be enough to claim their first league title since Maradona was in his pomp in 1990.

Extra police will be on duty in Udine for the game, with Napoli supporters taking up around half of the capacity of the Stadio Friuli.

The result may even be academic: Napoli could be crowned champions the previous night if Lazio fail to win their Wednesday home match with Sassuolo. Lazio, who are in second spot, trail Napoli by 18 points with six games to play.

Hundreds of thousands of Napoli fans had flooded into the center of the southern Italian port city on Sunday expecting their team to beat local rivals Salernitana and secure the Serie A championship for only the third time in their history.

But a late equalizer by the visitors put one of the largest street parties Italy has seen in years on hold for a few days.



Fernandez Thriving at Chelsea after Getting to Grips with Maresca’s Positional Demands

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Brentford - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - December 15, 2024 Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez applauds fans after the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Brentford - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - December 15, 2024 Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez applauds fans after the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
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Fernandez Thriving at Chelsea after Getting to Grips with Maresca’s Positional Demands

Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Brentford - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - December 15, 2024 Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez applauds fans after the match. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Chelsea v Brentford - Stamford Bridge, London, Britain - December 15, 2024 Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez applauds fans after the match. (Action Images via Reuters)

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez struggled to live up to his hefty price tag following his arrival at the club in January last year but the Argentine says his recent upturn in form is down to developing a good understanding with coach Enzo Maresca.

Fernandez, who cost Chelsea 106 million pounds ($132 million), started six of their first seven league matches this season but failed to impress and was dropped to the bench in place of Romeo Lavia.

However, since his return to the side last month Fernandez has looked revitalized, bagging three goals and four assists in seven Premier League games and helping Chelsea climb to second.

"I learned the position in which I had to play, over time I got the idea of what the coach wanted," Fernandez told ESPN in an interview published on Monday.

"He (Maresca) explained to me what he wanted and I was getting the concept, reading the games. There is still a long way to go.

"On a personal level I have been feeling very good. The team has shown a very strong character, always working and with humility and showing that great things can be achieved. There is still a long way to go."

Chelsea next host London rivals Fulham on Thursday before travelling to face Ipswich Town on Dec. 30.