Napoli handed runaway Serie A leaders Inter crucial help on Sunday night, claiming a late 2-1 home win against second-placed Juventus. Days after their first league triumph under new manager Francesco Calzona, Partenopei took another significant step to recovering their European qualification hopes.
After a relatively uneventful reverse fixture, which Juventus won 1-0, no one expected an action-packed affair at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. However, both teams flew out of the traps, with chances coming on both ends of the field from the get-go.
Napoli weathered an early storm as Dusan Vlahovic wasted two glorious opportunities to put Juventus in front. The Serbian striker’s misses returned to haunt Massimiliano Allegri’s lads on the stroke of halftime. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia slotted home a half-volley from an awkward angle to give the reigning champions the lead.
Despite being in firm control of proceedings after the break, Napoli capitulated beyond the 80th minute. Federico Chiesa grabbed a well-deserved goal to restore parity, making everyone at the Maradona Stadium believe Calzona’s side would miss out on a pivotal win.
But though it looked like a high hill to climb after Chiesa’s equalizer, Napoli regained the lead shortly after. Victor Osimhen failed to score from the spot. Luckily for him, Giacomo Raspadori was quick to get on the end of a rebound and smash the ball into the roof of the net.
Another morale-boosting win fired Napoli to seventh in the Serie A standings as we look at our player ratings.
Napoli (4-3-3)
Alex Meret – 7
Miraculously kept a clean sheet in the first half and seemed on the verge of shutting out Juventus before Chiesa’s unstoppable strike spoiled his plans.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo – 7.5
Tonight was the closest he came to last season’s form, establishing himself as a menace on the right-hand side with his trademark runs down the flank.
Amir Rrahmani – 6
Lost tracks of Vlahovic twice in the opening 35 minutes of play but got away on both occasions. However, there’s no way he can be proud of this evening’s performance.
Juan Jesus – 6.5
Though the Brazilian was slightly better than his center-back partner, it was far from a reassuring showing, especially in the early goings.
Mathias Olivera – 6.5
Struggled against Chiesa’s blistering burst of pace early on but grew into the contest as the game progressed, finding ways to deal with the Italian’s devastating attacking potential.
Hamed Traore – 6
Slotted in for Piotr Zielinski but came nowhere near the Pole’s standard. Too many loose touches and wayward crossing summed up an underwhelming display from the Bournemouth loanee.
Stanislav Lobotka – 7
Arguably Napoli’s best midfielder tonight, even though his well-documented proneness to playing back passes overshadowed several exciting progressive runs.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa – 6.5
Sloppy in possession at times, the Cameroonian displayed some erratic passing and bizarre decisions in dangerous areas, though he repaired that image with his admirable commitment.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – 7.5
Following a sluggish start to the game, the Georgian ace reminded Napoli fans of his talismanic attributes with an all-important deadlock-breaker. Looked lively on the ball for most of the match.
Matteo Politano – 7
Not as decisive as his colleague on the left but still creative enough to give Juventus defenders all sorts of problems on the opposite flank with his quick movements between the lines and tricky feet.
Victor Osimhen – 6
Another frustrating fixture for the Nigerian! In addition to wasting a spot-kick, he seemed well below his A-game all night, focusing more on arguing with the referees than threatening Wojciech Szczesny.
Juventus Player Ratings vs Napoli: Chiesa and Szczesny Late Heoircs Not Enough
Substitutes
Leo Ostigard – 6.5
Piotr Zielinski – 6
Giacomo Raspadori – 7
Jesper Lindstrom – N/A
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