Simeone treble buries Napoli as Juventus close on seventh straight title

Milan: Napoli's title hopes looked in tatters on Sunday after a shock 3-0 defeat at Fiorentina, complete with an early sending-off for Kalidou Koulibaly and a hat-trick from Giovanni Simeone, edged Juventus closer to a seventh successive Serie A title.

With just three games left, Juventus have a four-point lead on closest challengers Napoli and could wrap up yet another 'Scudetto' next weekend.

Argentina forward Simeone — the son of Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone — scored all three goals in a spectacular display to keep Fiorentina's Europa League hopes alive.

Koulibaly, labelled a hero when he scored the last-gasp header that kept Napoli's ambitions alive with a 1-0 win over Juventus in Turin last week, turned villain in Florence when he was sent off after just eight minutes.

"We lost tactical certainties after the sending off, and faced with adversity we lost our way and our nerve too," said Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri.

"The entire team had a bad performance. We won as a team at other times, today we lost as a team. I didn't see any positives."