Juventus Survive Napoli Scare To Remain Unbeaten

By Danny Ward

Juventus go six points clear of Napoli in the 2018/19 Serie A standings with a comeback win against Carlo Ancelotti’s men at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Dries Mertens put Napoli in front in the 10th minute, and Juventus responded with two goals from Mario Mandzukic and another Leonardo Bonucci, all of which were assisted by by Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was a top of the table game involving leaders Juventus and second-place Napoli, and the win was the perfect extension of a run of a six-match winning streak for Massimiliano Allegri’s charges.

Juventus now have 21 points as against second-place Napoli’s 15 points, and look on course to winning their eighth straight Serie A title.

Napoli controlled the early minute of the game and shot ahead in the 10th minute through Callejon who puts the ball on a plate for Dries Mertens to finish it off with a simple close-range hit.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a goal-bound shot blocked by goalkeeper David Ospina in the 14th minute, and Blaise Matuidi could only force a corner kick when he was put clear in the 17th minute, five minutes before Napoli’s Mario Rui received the first booking of the evening for a foul on Paulo Dybala.

Mario Mandzukic leveled up for the hosts in the 26th minute when he jumped highest in the Napoli penalty box to connect with a perfect cross from Ronaldo, and the latter was unlucky three minutes after when his promising thunderbolt from the edge of the box was saved comfortably by Ospina before it could hit the bottom left corner.

Ronaldo brought the game back to life after the restart by latching onto a loose ball and following up with a measured shot which was cleared to safety, but Mandzukic was in the right place at the right time to get to the rebound inside the box and gleefully rifled the ball into the middle of the net.

Napoli still enjoyed a good part of the possession, but their strength was reduced in the 58th minute when Mario Rui received a second booking and the red card from referee Luca Bunti for a stamping on Dybala’s shin.

The incident resulted in a scuffle between players of both sides, and Luca Bunti showed no mercy as he dashed out his yellow card to the two ringleaders, Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci and Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne.

Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny denied Jose Callejon the equaliser in the 72nd minute by brilliantly saving the midfielder's shot, before Leonardo Bonucci put the game beyond the reach of the visitors by firing in Ronaldo’s header in the 76th minute.

Ronaldo came within inches of scoring after picking up a pass from Mandzukic, but his shot from inside the box flashed inches wide of the left post.