Antonio Conte has Napoli back atop Serie A to end 2024 after miserable title defense last season

ROME (AP) — Napoli went through three different coaches during its Serie A title defense last season and ended the campaign in 10th place.

Antonio Conte was hired in July and now Napoli is ending 2024 level with Atalanta atop the Italian league again.

Substitute Giacomo Raspadori scored a late goal and Napoli beat relegation-threatened Venezia 1-0 on Sunday in its final match of the year.

Napoli trails Atalanta only on goal difference but both teams are one point ahead of defending champion Inter Milan, which has a game in hand.

“Even if I play cards with my daughter I want to win,” said Conte, who was hired to get Napoli back into the Champions League. “Personally, I don’t accept minimal goals. But we all know where we started and what the club’s objectives are.”

Atalanta drew 1-1 at Lazio on Saturday and Inter won 3-0 at Cagliari.

Also Sunday, Juventus and Fiorentina drew 2-2 in a match that was briefly suspended because of discriminatory chants aimed at Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic; and AC Milan drew 1-1 with visiting Roma.

After Luciano Spalletti coached Napoli to the Serie A title in 2022-23, Rudi Garcia, Walter Mazzarri and Francesco Calzona managed the team last season, when the Partenopei finished a whopping 41 points behind Inter.

“What happened is in the past. The present is what counts,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “It’s great to be back on top but there’s still a long way to go.”

Napoli had struggled to get the ball past Venezia goalkeeper Filip Stankovic, the son of former Lazio and Inter standout Dejan Stankovic. But Raspadori broke the deadlock in the 79th when he used one touch to fire in a loose ball from the center of the area less than 10 minutes after he came on.

“These are tough matches where it means a lot to come away with three points,” Raspadori said. “We know we’re on the right path.”

In the first half, Stankovic saved a penalty kick from Romelu Lukaku. Then in the second half Stankovic deflected a shot from Lukaku off the post.

Napoli produced 25 shots to Venezia's four.

Napoli’s 27 goals scored are the least among the top six teams in the standings.

“The squad is improving under every point of view. We just need to score more goals,” Conte said.

Discriminatory chants aimed at Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic by visiting Fiorentina fans prompted a two-minute suspension during the first half.

Vlahovic, a Serbia international who played for Fiorentina before transferring to Juventus three years ago, appeared to tell the referee about the chants. The ref then stopped play, gathered the teams and ordered a warning announcement to be made over the stadium’s public address system.

The announcement said that the match would be suspended definitively if there were more discriminatory chants.

Play then resumed.

Khephren Thuram put Juventus ahead midway through the first half. Former Juventus striker Moise Kean equalized before the break with his 15th goal across all competitions this season. Thuram added another in the second half and Fiorentina equalized again with a volley from Riccardo Sottil in the 87th.

Juventus and Fiorentina are both nine points behind the leaders.

Juventus is the only unbeaten team in the league but the Bianconeri have drawn more matches (11) than they've won (seven).

At the San Siro, Tijjani Reijnders put Milan ahead early on and Paulo Dybala equalized for Roma. Under-pressure Milan coach Paulo Fonseca was sent off for protests at the end of the first half.

Earlier, Torino came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Udinese.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Roma's Paulo Dybala, front, jumps for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Fiorentina's Riccardo Sottil celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus Turin and Fiorentina in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Fiorentina's Moise Kean celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus Turin and Fiorentina in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Juventus' Khephren Thuram celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Juventus Turin and Fiorentina in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's David Neres Campos, left, and Venezia's Franco Carboni, right, in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Venezia at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy Sunday Dec. 29, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's David Neres Campos, right, and Venezia's Franco Carboni in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Venezia at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy Sunday Dec. 29, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, left, and Venezia's Giorgio Altare in action during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Venezia at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy Sunday Dec. 29, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Giacomo Raspadori celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Venezia at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy Sunday Dec. 29, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Giacomo Raspadori celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Venezia at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy Sunday Dec. 29, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

Napoli's Giacomo Raspadori, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Napoli and Venezia at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy Sunday Dec. 29, 2024. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)