Napoli vs Juventus Review
Napoli returned to the top of Serie A, thanks to a brace from Rasmus Højlund that secured a 2-1 victory over Juventus at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Both Spalletti and his counterpart Antonio Conte were aiming to outdo teams with whom they had previously won the Scudetto. Early in the match, just six minutes in, Conte’s Napoli issued a warning when Scott McTominay narrowly missed a header from David Neres’ cross. However, Juventus failed to respond effectively, and on their very next attack, Neres broke free on the right side and delivered a low cross to Rasmus Højlund, who scored from close range.
Juventus reacted to the early setback by maintaining possession for much of the game but were unable to create any significant scoring opportunities. After defending for about 20 minutes, Napoli nearly extended their lead when Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s header was spectacularly saved by the agile Michele Di Gregorio. Overall, the first half lacked clear chances, although McTominay came close with a header that narrowly missed following a corner just before halftime.
Under Spalletti, Juventus had already come from behind to secure at least a draw on three occasions, but their chances of doing so a fourth time would have diminished shortly after the second half began if Di Gregorio hadn’t helped block a powerful shot from Højlund. McTominay then had a third opportunity, narrowly missing with a low free-kick. The most recent missed opportunity was made even more frustrating by a Juventus equalizer just before the 60-minute mark. Kenan Yıldız completed a smooth team move by exchanging a quick one-two pass with Weston McKennie and then calmly finishing past Vanja Milinković-Savić from a narrow angle.
The score remained level until 12 minutes before the end, when McKennie accidentally assisted Højlund in scoring his second goal. It was McKennie’s header back across the goal from another Neres cross that set up the striker to head the Partenopei back into the lead. Napoli effectively managed the expected late pressure from the visitors, securing a full year without a home league defeat. Meanwhile, Juventus have only one away win this season and are now eight points behind the leaders.
