Rejuvenated Juve fails to hold Napoli

Edwin
Edwin  - CEO April 23, 2023
Updated 2023/04/23 at 8:52 PM
5 Min Read
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Fired up Napoli nails Juventus in injury time at the Allianz Stadium

 

Filip Kostić of Juventus kicks the ball during the Serie A match between Juventus and SSC Napoli at on April 23, 2023 in TurinImage credit: Getty Images

 

 

Substitutes

These are the players who will be on the bench:Napoli: Karim Zedadka, Piotr Zielinski, Davide Marfella, Bartosz Bereszynski, Gianluca Gaetano, Leo Ostigard, Pierluigi Gollini, Amir Rrahmani, Giacomo Raspadori, Eljif Elmas, Diego Demme and Alessio Zerbin.

Referees

The referee appointment for today’s game is as follows:
Referee: MICHAEL FABBRI.
Assistant One: NICCOLÒ PAGLIARDINI.
Assistant Two: MATTIA SCARPA.
Fourth Referee: LUCA MASSIMI.
VAR: GIANLUCA AURELIANO.
VAR assistant: IVANO PEZZUTO.

Juventus: Samuel Iling-Junior, Bremer, Leonardo Bonucci, Nicolo Fagioli, Dusan Vlahovic, Mattia De Sciglio, Mattia Perin, Leandro Paredes, Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria, Federico Chiesa, Alex Sandro and Carlo Pinsoglio.

 

By Ed Emeanua

 

Fresh from the partial reinstatement of 15 points deduction by the Italian FA following their appeal, Juventus hoped to catchup on runaway Serie A leaders, SSC Napoli at their Allianz Stadium on Sunday as the visitors pushed to increase their hold on winning a title that has eluded The Parthenopeans for decades.

 

Both sides held tight in midfield as neither wanted to yield ground nor be guilty for conceding the first goal. Napoli’s dangerman, Victor Osimhen in particular enjoyed the tightest of attention of all with at least two Fidanzata d’Italia (The Girlfriend of Italy) players provided enough shadow to keep him in check at all times.

 

Yet, it was Napoli that won the first corner kick in the fifth minute. Though nothing came out of it, Gli Azzurri (The Blues) also enjoyed most of the possession in the first half, with the home side often relying mostly on counter attacks hoping to catch the league leaders off guard.

 

The first half soon drew to a close with no side taking the lead. The second half started just like the first with Napoli again seizing the initiative. On 55′, Osimhen won the ball off Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli, locating his partner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who was lurking at the edge of the box, but the Georgian’s shot flew over the bar.

 

Napoli continued to foray on in pack. On 71′, the Napoli striker managed to wriggle into space in the box and but his shot took a deflection and clipped the outside of the post. From the resulting corner, Osimhen rose brilliantly to meet to meet the ball but heads straight at Szczesny who in turn cuddles the ball gingerly like a newborn baby. Napoli are now roaring on.

 

Three minutes later, Giovanni Di Lorenzo whipped a superb pass around the corner and into the Osimhen’s path allowing the Napoli striker to take a first time shot, but his effort sailed over the bar.

 

When you spurn your chances in football, it will often come back to  bite you. In a swift counter in the 82nd minute, Angel Di Maria went scampering after a through ball and dribbles into the box before slotting a finish past Meret. VAR however ruled that Arkadiusz Milik on Stanislav Lobotka in the build-up.

 

The game became a ding dong affair as both sides tried to win it. Then, the dramatic end. Elif Elmas clipped the ball to the back post and Giacomo Raspadori was there alone with all the time and space to fire a volley under Szczesny and into the net to win it for Napoli.

 

Serie A Results 24/04

AC MILAN 2-0 LECCE
MONZA 3-2 FIORENTINA
UDINESE 3-0 CREMONESE
EMPOLI 0-3 INTERNAZIONALE
Fixture: Monday, 24/04
ATALANTA Vs. AS ROMA

 

 

 

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