A show of strength from Napoli who, despite a solid Udinese, beat the Friulian team 3-1, keeping them two points clear of Atalanta, first in the standings with 37 points. After the initial Juventus advantage signed by Thauvin, it was the goals of Lukaku and Anguissa, interspersed with Giannetti’s own goal, that brought success to Conte’s eleven after the double defeat between the Italian Cup and the championship against Lazio. Lively start to the match, with a couple of interesting initiatives on both the Friulian and Neapolitan sides.
The first real chance to break the deadlock will come from Neres who, in the 19th minute, is favored by a high ball recovery from Napoli and suddenly accelerates, kicking from inside the area with his left foot to cross which ends not far from the post left of Sava. In the 22nd minute, however, the favorable episode came for Udinese, with Lobotka’s handball which earned the Bianconeri a penalty, with Thauvin first stopped from the spot by Meret, but the Frenchman was lethal on the rebound seal the 1-0. Napoli suffered the disadvantage and went back forward, with Anguissa finding the conclusion in the 36th minute following a corner, but it was Sava who dived to say no. We go to half-time with Napoli present but having difficulty finding the winning solution for the draw, unlike what happens at the start of the second half: Giannetti and Bijol are too far away, McTominay takes advantage of this by launching Lukaku, cool in beating Sava and scoring the 1-1.
The Azzurri accelerate in search of the overtaking goal, which will arrive in the 76th minute, thanks to the personal action of Neres, who sows panic in the Friuli area and dampens the conclusion that Giannetti sends clumsily into his own goal. An advantage that would become double a little later, with the winning insertion of Anguissa who, face to face with Sava, made it 3-1. Napoli thus enters a management final, in which Udinese is unable to get back ahead, thus seeing their hopes of a comeback cancelled, definitively extinguished by Doveri’s triple whistle at the end of the four minutes of injury time which thus sends the the Udine challenge.
Udinese-Napoli 1-3
MARKERS: 22′ st Thauvin, 5′ st Lukaku, 31′ st Giannetti (aut.), 36′ st Anguissa
UDINESE (3-5-2): Sava 6; Kristensen 5.5, Giannetti 4.5 (38′ st Bravo sv), Bijol 5.5; Ehizibue 5.5 (25′ st Kamara 6), Lovric 6 (34′ st Atta 6), Karlstrom 5.5, Ekkelenkamp 6 (38′ st Abankwah sv), Zemura 6 (38′ st Modesto sv); Thauvin 6.5, Lucca 5.5. On the bench: Padelli, Piana, Brenner, Kabasele, Palma, Sanchez, Toure. Coach: Runjaic 5.5
NAPLES (4-3-3): Meret 7; Di Lorenzo 6, Rrahmani 6, Buongiorno 5.5, Olivera 6; Anguissa 7, Lobotka 5.5 (44′ st Gilmour sv), McTominay 6.5; Politano 6 (40′ st Ngonge sv), Lukaku 6.5 (35′ st Simeone 6.5), Neres 6.5 (40′ st Raspadori sv). On the bench: Caprile, Contini, Juan Jesus, Marin, Spinazzola, Zerbin. Coach: Conte 6.5
REFEREE: Duties of Rome 6.5
NOTES: clear afternoon, pitch in excellent condition. Penalty saved in the 22nd minute of the first half by Meret (Napoli) following a shot by Thauvin (Udinese). Booked: Atta, Politano. Angles: 2-9. Recovery time: 3′ st, 4′ st.