Juventus 4-3 Napoli
The new Serie A season may only be two weeks old, but it might have already produced the match of the season. Juventus and Napoli, the top two teams in each of the last three seasons, were scheduled for an early-season showdown, and it did not disappoint.
It seemed as if Juventus would stroll to a comfortable victory after going 3-0 ahead with less than half an hour remaining. But the Neapolitans staged a spirited second-half comeback to level it all up, only to be denied a well-deserved point in the cruellest way possible.
For Napoli, it’s been a crazy start to their campaign as they’ve now been on opposite sides of a 4-3 scoreline. The Serie A 2019 odds of that happening were astronomical! As for Juve, their 100 per cent record remains intact as they remain on top of the table heading into the international break.
Highlights of the game
It was a relatively quiet opening quarter of an hour with both teams registering just one shot apiece. Cristiano Ronaldo unleashed a speculative strike from the edge of the penalty area in the fourth minute which was punched into touch by Alex Meret.
Allan then had Napoli’s first opportunity on 14 minutes as his powerful shot from distance forced a brilliant one-handed save from Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny.
The Juventus corner was delayed due to an injury to Juve full-back Mattia De Sciglio, who had to be replaced by Danilo. And once the corner was finally taken, the Brazilian would make an immediate impact.
Juve caught the visitors out with a lightning-quick counter-attack led by Douglas Costa. The speedy winger dribbled into the Napoli penalty area and set up his compatriot Danilo, whose side-footed finish gave the hosts the lead.
Juve would double their advantage just a few minutes later through former Napoli hero Gonzalo Higuain. The Argentine managed to evade former team-mate Kalidou Koulibaly and uncorked an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net.
Higuain very nearly turned provider for Juventus’ third goal at the half-hour mark as he laid the ball off to the on-rushing Sami Khedira. Unfortunately, his finish wasn’t quite good enough to get it past Meret.
Khedira did successfully beat Meret just a couple minutes later with a brilliant long-range strike, but the unlucky German’s shot cannoned back off the crossbar.
Down two goals, Napoli turned up the pressure to start the second half. Dries Mertens came close with a couple of attempts from distance.
However, Juventus would extend their lead to three just after the hour mark. Cristiano Ronaldo got on the end of a Douglas Costa cross to score what seemed like the goal that would put the game to bed. But as it turned out, the game was far from over.
Just three minutes later, Napoli pulled a goal back through new signing Kostas Manolas, who headed home from a free-kick. And five minutes after that, another of their new recruits — Mexican winger Hirving Lozano — scored a second to make it 3-2. Game back on.
And on 81 minutes, Napoli levelled it all up through a third newcomer in full-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo, who once again capitalised on less-than-stellar set-piece defending by the champions.
An epic comeback was suddenly in sight for Napoli. But as fate would have it, the fairy tale would quickly turn into a nightmare in stoppage time.
Kalidou Koulibaly, who famously scored a 90th-minute winner at the Juventus Stadium back in 2018 to keep Napoli in the title hunt, would score once again — but this time, though, it would be an own goal.
The star centre-back’s attempted clearance of a Juventus free-kick catastrophically sliced right into the top corner of the Napoli net. It was a cruel, cruel way for Napoli to lose after such a valiant comeback. But those are the breaks of the game.
Key statistics
With Napoli being down for most of the match, they ended up with the superior statistics. They controlled 56 per cent of the possession and just edged out the shot total, 15-12. Although, both teams finished with seven shots on target and a handful of Serie A 2019 highlights.
After not featuring in the season opener against Parma, Matthijs de Ligt — one of the top stars to watch this Serie A season — got his first-ever Juventus start. He will need to fill in for most of the season after Giorgio Chiellini suffered a torn ACL and will be out until next year.
What’s next?
Juventus’ first match back from the international break will be against Fiorentina, who were on the losing end of another 4-3 match against Napoli. Juve boss Maurizio Sarri should be back on the sideline after missing the first two matches due to pneumonia.
As for Napoli, they will finally play their home opener after the break as they host Sampdoria at the San Paolo. It might be wise to check out the SBOBET odds for the over on that match after the 14 goals scored in Napoli’s first two games.
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