Juventus 0-1 Napoli – Leaders Napoli move closer to Serie A title with dramatic late victory over Juve

Napoli could be one week away from clinching the Serie A title after a stoppage-time winner from Giacomo Raspadori earned a 1-0 win away to Juventus that extended their lead at the top of the standings to 17 points.

The result means that if Napoli beat Salernitana at home next Saturday and Lazio fail to win away to Inter the following day, the Partenopei will end a 33-year long wait for their third Scudetto.

Both sides struggled to create clear openings in the first half but Serie A top scorer Victor Osimhen came to life after the break, clipping the post and squandering a couple of big chances, before Angel Di Maria and Dusan Vlahovic had goals chalked off for Juve late on.

Raspadori was left all alone to volley home the winner in the 93rd minute to send Luciano Spalletti’s side up to 78 points and end a three-match winless run.

The two sides came into the game in contrasting moods; Juventus had their 15-point deduction for financial wrongdoing overturned and reached the Europa League semi-finals during the week, while Napoli’s Champions League hopes were ended by AC Milan.

The league leaders were unusually blunt in a goalless draw against Verona last weekend, and their problems continued in a sluggish first half where they failed to get a shot on target for a second consecutive Serie A game for the first time since 2011.

Juventus managed to test Alex Meret with efforts from Juan Cuadrado and Arkadiusz Milik, while Federico Gatti played a risky game when he threw an arm out at Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and left the Napoli winger on the floor clutching his head, but the referee didn’t intervene.

The visitors upped their intensity after the break and finally managed to sting the palms of Wojciech Szczesny as Kvaratskhelia and Giovanni Di Lorenzo threatened early in the second half before Osimhen skimmed the woodwork and fired over from a good position.

Substitute Di Maria thought he had made a decisive contribution late on when he finished off a quick counter-attack, but VAR called the referee over for a second look and it was ruled out for a foul in the build-up. Vlahovic then came off the bench and immediately scored, but the ball was clearly out of play when Federico Chiesa provided the assist.

Two Napoli replacements combined to make the late breakthrough, Eljif Elmas picking out the unmarked Raspadori at the back post for a powerful volleyed finish.

TALKING POINT – Napoli one week from history?

For Napoli, the pain of a Champions League exit to Milan will soon be cured by the euphoria of winning their first Serie A title since the Diego Maradona-inspired 1989/90 campaign.

It’s a question of when, not if. And for the first time this season, the ‘when’ is very close at hand, thanks to Torino beating second-placed Lazio 1-0 in Rome on Saturday.

Napoli host Campanian neighbours Salernitana at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Saturday and they will be big favourites against the 14th-placed visitors.

If they can get the three points, then they will be hoping for Inter to do them a favour the next day by avoiding defeat against Lazio at San Siro. It isn’t an unlikely sequence of events by any stretch of the imagination, and the biggest party to hit Naples for decades could be just a week away.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – Giovanni Di Lorenzo

A captain’s performance. The right-back quietly went about his work and steered his side to a crucial clean sheet that laid the foundation for Raspadori to take all the glory.

Di Lorenzo could have, and perhaps should have, finished the night with an assist after putting the ball on a plate for Osimhen to fire over, while he had more touches than anyone (102), while making tackles and interceptions and keeping Filip Kostic quiet.

PLAYER RATINGS

Juventus: Szczesny 6; Gatti 6, Rugani 6, Danilo 7; Cuadrado 7, Rabiot 6, Locatelli 7, Miretti 6, Kostic 6; Soule 6; Milik 6

Subs: Di Maria 6, Chiesa 6, Fagioli 6, Vlahovic N/A

Napoli: Meret 7; Di Lorenzo 7; Kim 7, Jesus 7, Olivera 7; Anguissa 6, Lobotka 7, Ndombele 7; Lozano 7, Osimhen 7, Kvaratskhelia 7

Subs: Zielinski 7, Elmas 7, Raspadori 8, Rrahmani N/A

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

71’ OSIMHEN CLIPS THE POST!

The striker wriggles into space in the box and fires a shot, which takes a deflection and clips the outside of the post. From the resulting corner, Osimhen rises brilliantly to meet it but heads straight at Szczesny. Napoli are really pushing now.

83’ GOAL DISALLOWED

Juve strike on the break! Napoli can’t say they weren’t warned. Di Maria goes scampering after a through ball and dribbles into the box before slotting a finish past Meret. But the referee heads over to the pitchside monitor for a look, and sees a trip from Milik on Lobotka in the build-up. Sighs of relief all round for Napoli.

91’ ANOTHER JUVE GOAL CHALKED OFF!

Vlahovic immediately sticks the ball in the net, but it won’t count! Not too much controversy around this one, as the ball was clearly out of play when Chiesa hooked it back to the Serbian striker.

93’ GOAL! NAPOLI HAVE WON IT!

What a grandstand finish in Turin! Elmas clips a ball to the back post and Raspadori is there all on his own with the time and space to fire a volley under Szczesny and in!

KEY STATS

• Napoli have failed to fire any shot on target in the first half of play in two Serie A games in a row for the first time since November 2011 (v Lazio and Atalanta in that case).
• Napoli have won both of their seasonal matches against Juventus in Serie A for the fourth time in their history, after 2009/10, 1986/87 and 1957/58 campaigns.