Napoli defeats Juve in dramatic comeback to stay top of Serie A
Napoli rallied an impressive comeback against Juventus in Matchday 22 of the Serie A, beating them 2-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Saturday evening to remain top of the soccer league.
The defeat, their first of the campaign, ended Juve’s impressive 21-game unbeaten streak under manager Thiago Motta.
Randal Kolo Muani, on loan from French side Paris Saint-Germain, broke the deadlock with a close-range finish moments before the interval, benefiting from a botched clearance that fortuitously diverted the ball to the unmarked forward.
The lead, however, didn’t last long, as Napoli levelled the score just before the hour mark through Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa, who met Matteo Politano’s cross with a powerful header.
Nevertheless, the decisive point of the game came in the 69th minute when Juve midfielder Manuel Locatelli brought down former Manchester United player Scott McTominay inside the box.
A composed Romelu Lukaku stepped up with the ball, converting confidently from the penalty spot to secure the winner for Napoli with his 200th career goal.
While reflecting on the victory, Napoli head coach Antonio Conte praised his team’s fighting spirit.
“I coach a group of players who know how to face challenges, even those that emerge at the last moment,” said Conte.
“The strength of our group comes from believing in daily work, and on the field, you can see the results of our weekly preparation.
“We beat an opponent with an incredibly strong squad that is still reinforcing itself in this transfer window and had not yet lost in the league.”
Although Motta was disappointed by the performance, the Italian manager admitted that his side had very little recovery time.
“We’ve played many matches recently,” Motta said.
“Having limited preparation time during the week impacts our performance.
“In the second half, we struggled to repeat the good things we showed in the first half.”
Juventus will host Benfica on Wednesday in the Champions League, and the top soccer betting sites are paying $2.38 for the Turin outfit to beat the Portuguese side ($3.08).
Meanwhile, Napoli will be on the road in the Serie A next Sunday, with the league leaders slight favourites at $2.50 with leading soccer bookmakers to defeat AS Roma ($2.87).