Juventus-Napoli 3-0
GOALS: 22′ pt David; 32′ st Yildiz, 41′ st Kostic.
JUVENTUS (4-3-3): Di Gregorio 6; Kalulu 6, Bremer 6.5, Kelly 6, Cambiaso 5 (15′ st Kostic 6.5); Thuram 7, Locatelli 6.5 (42′ st Koopmeiners sv); Conceicao 6 (15′ st Cabal 6), McKennie 6.5, Yildiz 7.5 (42′ st Gatti sv); David 7 (31′ st Miretti 6.5). On the bench: Perin, Huli, Zhegrova, Adzic, Openda, Joao Mario. Coach: Spalletti 6.5.
NAPLES (3-4-3): Meret 5.5; Di Lorenzo 5.5, Buongiorno 6, Juan Jesus 5; Gutierrez 5 (29′ st Beukema 6), Lobotka 5.5, McTominay 5.5, Spinazzola 5.5; Vergara 6 (34′ st Lukaku sv), Hojlund 6.5, Elmas 5.5 (25′ st Giovane 6). On the bench: Contini, Ferrante, Olivera, Prisco, De Chiara. Coach: Conte 6.
REFEREE: Mariani from Aprilia 6.
NOTES: cloudy evening, pitch in excellent condition. Booked: Juan Jesus, Yildiz, Vergara. Corners: 2-2. Recovery: 1′; 3′.
Juventus wins and convinces in the big match against Napoli: a 3-0 success which relaunches the Bianconeri after the slip away against Cagliari and which brings them to -1 from the Neapolitans in the Serie A standings. Between rivalries and great exes, starting with the two coaches, Luciano Spalletti and Antonio Conte, a match with a very important specific weight is staged at the Allianz Stadium: a litmus test for the Bianconeri after weeks of growth, despite the aforementioned knockout in Sardinia, but an important test also for the Neapolitans, still decimated by absences. In the last few hours the stoppage of Milinkovic-Savic has also been added, and so Meret is back in goal after four months since the last match played: Giovane, who has just arrived from Verona, immediately on the bench, in addition to Lukaku. At the Stadium the atmosphere is that of great evenings and Spalletti’s team is aggressive and applies very high pressure right from the start. And it is precisely from this aggressiveness that the great opportunity that fell to Thuram’s feet in the 19th minute was born: Gutierrez lost the ball coming out under pressure from Yildiz and the French midfielder unleashed a nice curling shot that went into the top corner.
The guests responded with a shot from Vergara, easy prey for Di Gregorio, but the Bianconeri took the lead in the 22nd minute, when David took advantage of Locatelli’s assist, winning the physical duel with Spinazzola and beating Meret. Juve immediately had the opportunity to double the lead with Yildiz’s illuminating play for Conceicao, but the Portuguese’s shot, after passing the opposing goalkeeper, was cleared right off the line by a sensational save from Buongiorno. At this point the Bianconeri’s pace drops and Conte’s team reorganizes, although without creating any real scoring opportunities. Di Gregorio’s first real attempt towards goal, in fact, only came in the 55th minute with Hojlund’s oversized shot, well held by Bremer. Juve struggled to get the ball moving but still conceded little, and then Conte also threw Giovane into the fray in the 70th minute. But in the 77th minute Juan Jesus’s very serious error in setting up opens the doors for Miretti, who recovers the ball and serves Yildiz for the 2-0. Lukaku also returns to the pitch for Napoli, but the Turk’s goal effectively ends the match. And at this point Kostic’s seal in the 86th minute with a nice shot from distance appears to be perhaps an excessive punishment for the guests, but which certifies the great performance of the home team.
Now, for both teams, their minds turn to Wednesday, when the last day of the League Phase of the Champions League will take place: Juventus, who have already secured at least a place in the play-offs, dream of direct qualification to the round of 16 and face Monaco away from home; while Napoli, after having complicated their lives with the draw in Copenhagen, are chasing the feat at “Maradona” against Chelsea.