Napoli woke up and made their fans feel better. It beat Juventus 2:1 in the prestigious battle between the representatives of northern and southern Italy. Wojciech Szczesny saved the penalty kick, but did not prevent its decisive rebound.
Sebastian Szczytkowski
PAP/EPA / Pictured: Wojciech Szczęsny
Dusan Vlahovic had the first chance to score in the 10th minute. The Serbian moved away from Napoli's defenders and scored with a header after a Federico Chiesa throw-in. Alex Meret remained in the blocks between the Azzurri's posts and looked anxiously at the ball. The Juventus striker was centimeters away from opening the scoring.
Napoli responded to this attack in the 28th minute. Wojciech Szczęsny blocked Matteo Politano's shot, and although for a moment it looked like Zambo Anguissa was going to finish, the Pole managed to protect himself.
The strike was gaining momentum and there were more and more goal scoring situations. In the 34th minute, Dusan Vlahovic showed his effectiveness again in recent weeks, but he missed again. The ball bounced off the post, and despite the available opportunities, it remained scoreless.
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The Bianconeri had to be on their toes as three of them picked up early yellow cards. Dusan Vlahovic, Bremer and Andrea Cambiasso abused the referee.
In the 43rd minute, the attacking players' warnings to the defenders ended. Chwicza Kwaracchelia scored to make it 1-0 to Napoli and it became clear that Wojciech Szczęsny would not keep a clean sheet again. The Pole could have been beaten by a slight rebound from the unfortunately placed Andrea Cambiasso. Manuel Locatelli also made a mistake and, after receiving the cross, kicked the ball directly at the Georgian's feet.
Interestingly, the first to start was Francesco Calzona, who brought three active players onto the pitch about an hour later. One of them was Piotr Zielinski, who replaced Hamed Traoré in the starting lineup. Furthermore, Leo Ostegaard and Giacomo Raspadori started playing for Napoli. Thus, a new player appeared in each formation.
Time worked in Napoli's favor, as they played reasonably well in defense and did not allow Juventus to create as many scoring chances as in the first half. Thus, the Azzurri were approaching victory.
In the 81st minute, and with few indications of this, Juventus managed to equalize 1-1. Federico Chiesa found a way to beat Alex Meret. It was a successful shot after exchanging passes on the right side of the field with Carlos Alcaraz. Napoli's defenders failed to stop the Italian representative's march.
Napoli had little time to respond, but it was enough. In the 88th minute, Victor Osimhen scored himself and took the penalty kick. Maurizio Mariani booed after seeing a replay of Joseph Nong Buende's foul. Although the Nigerian did not defeat Wojciech Szczesny with his shot, the Pole was unable to celebrate the successful intervention. This is because Giacomo Raspadori scored the decisive extra goal to make it 2-1.
Arkadiusz Milik made a symbolic introduction as a substitute for Carlos Alcaraz in the 90th minute.
Napoli – Juventus 2:1 (1:0)
1:0 – Chuiczza Quaracilea (43')
1:1 – Federico Chiesa 81'
2:1 – Giacomo Raspadori 88'
In the 88th minute, Victor Osimhen, Napoli's player, missed a penalty kick. Wojciech Szczęsny was saved.
Compositions:
Naples: Alex Meret – Giovanni Di Lorenzo (65') Leo Ostegaard – Juan Jesus – Matias Oliveira – Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa – Stanislav Lobotka – Hamed Junior Traoré (65' Piotr Zielinski) Victor Osimhen, Shuecha Quarachilia (90') Jesper Lindstrom.
Juventus: Wojciech Szczesny – Daniele Rugani, Bremer, Alex Sandro – Andrea Cambiasso (66' Timothy Weah), Fabio Meretti (76' Joseph Nong Buende, 89' Danilo), Manuel Locatelli, Carlos Alcaraz (90' Arkadiusz Milik), Samuel Elling Jr. ( 90'). (76' Kenan Yildiz) – Federico Chiesa, Dusan Vlahovic
Yellow cards: Vlahovic, Bremer, Cambiasso, Nong Bwindi (Juventus).
Judge: Maurizio Mariani
Series A Table:
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