Napoli 1-2 Juventus
Juventus went 16 points clear at the top of Serie A tonight with a simply stunning win at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples.
We can excuse the home fans for thinking this was a horrible nightmare as Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli went down to ten men and then conceded two goals before roaring back to dominate the second half. They missed a late penalty which would have given them a point, the least they deserved.
Max Allegri’s Juventus had to withstand an onslaught from their hosts but held out with some help from the woodwork. From here on, the most interesting Serie A 2019 odds are around the top-four places and the relegation battle because the Old Lady has the Scudetto pretty much in the bag.
Highlights of the game
Napoli had the better of the opening exchanges, with a lot of their good play going through Piotr Zielinski, and he came close with a shot from the left edge of the penalty area which flew just beyond the far post.
Paulo Dybala was the creative spark in Juventus’ 3-0 win over Frosinone last week, but he was left on the bench with Mario Mandzukic partnering Cristiano Ronaldo up front. And it was Ronaldo, of course, who had a major hand in the opening goal.
The game turned on its head, on 25 minutes, when Napoli keeper Alex Meret had a rush of blood to his head. After a quick break by Juventus, he charged out of his area and upended Ronaldo and received a straight red card. Ancelotti had to shuffle his pack, and Arek Milik was sacrificed to bring David Ospina on, and that meant Napoli were now without their top scorer.
Miralem Pjanic made matters worse for the hosts when he cleverly placed his free-kick in the bottom-left corner to put the Bianconeri ahead in front of the furious San Paolo crowd.
But Napoli continued to press, and Zielinski was a fraction away from equalising when he took a pass from Fabian Ruiz and slammed his left-footed shot against the post. Then Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny made a smart save after Lorenzo Insigne shot low towards the corner after more good work from Zielinski.
A goal wouldn’t come, though, and the home side went further behind when Federico Bernardeschi swung in a corner and Emre Can rose to bullet a header beyond the reach of Ospina and into the top corner.
Two adrift at half-time and with a man down, it all looked pretty grim for Napoli. But they were thrown a lifeline minutes after the break when the referee levelled things up. Opening goalscorer Miralem Pjanic had already been booked when he deliberately handled, and he, too, headed off for an early bath.
And it was game on just after the hour when Lorenzo Insigne put a dangerous ball into the box and Jose Callejon fired the ball into the roof of the net. That prompted a Napoli onslaught on the Bianconeri goal with Zielinski and Insigne linking up to launch attack after attack. The Polish midfielder had two shots blocked and one saved in a three-minute period.
Then, with less than ten minutes remaining, VAR drama added to the excitement which was already at fever pitch in the stadium. Alex Sandro was judged to have handled when a corner flew in, and a penalty eventually was given.
But cruelly, Napoli was denied a deserved equaliser when Insigne’s penalty bounced back off the post.
Key statistics
There will be few objections to our view that this was a clash between the two best teams in Serie A and this was a cracking match to watch in the Serie A 2019 highlights package when you get the chance. This game had everything: three goals, two red cards and seven yellows, posts hit and a missed penalty.
The pre-match odds at SBOBET had the Bianconeri at 3.00 to win, and it was very harsh on Napoli who had 62 per cent possession and 21 shots to Juventus’ six.
It’s a first home defeat of the season for Napoli, the first in 24 games, while the Old Lady remains undefeated away from home.
What’s next?
Juventus are at home to Udinese next week, and with the Serie A title firmly in their control, the Bianconeri will turn their attention to the Champions League when Atletico Madrid arrive in Turin the following Tuesday. After losing 2-0 in Madrid, Juventus have a tough task against the best defence in Europe and without an away goal.
Gli Azzurri have a Europa League tie at home to Salzburg and then a visit to Sassuolo in Serie A next Sunday. Their hosts are without a win in five and with little to play for, other than their contracts, ten points behind a Europa place and 13 above the drop zone. So I expect Napoli to get back on track with two wins next week.
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