Napoli's European hopes end with Lecce stalemate
Napoli missed out on its slim chance to participate in Europe next season after being held to a 0-0 home draw by Lecce in its final Serie A game of the campaign.
After a lacklustre first half, Napoli had chances to win the game in the second, but could not find a way through Lecce despite having 24 shots, five of them on target.
Napoli came close though, as Jens Cajuste hit the far post with a low strike shortly before Cyril Ngonge rattled the crossbar in the 64th minute.
Patrick Dorgu had already given the Azzurri a scare just nine minutes in, firing Lecce's first shot off Alex Meret's post.
Napoli had to win to climb to ninth place, but instead, finished below Torino, which lost 3-0 to recently crowned UEFA Europa League champion Atalanta, owing to its head-to-head record.
Torino could now earn a UEFA Europa Conference League play-off spot if Fiorentina beats Olympiacos in that final this week.
Napoli finished the season on 53 points. It is the second-worst return for a team that started the season as Serie A reigning champion in the three-point-per-win era after AC Milan in 1996-1997 (43).
After scoring in each of its 12 home matches against Lecce in Serie A prior to this match, Napoli failed to find the back of the net against it for the first time at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
