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Juventus entered this game knowing a win would take 16 points above the second-placed Napoli in the Serie A league table. The Old Lady did just to shoot down Napoli whose unbeaten streak at San Paolo over the last one year came to an end.
The game ended 2-1 to Juventus, but it was not a fair reflection of the game as the side from Naples kept on piling pressure on their opponents from minute one to heap past them in the offensive play. When the game looked wide open, Marco Ruiz's poor pass went straight to Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese international was taken down outside the box by the young goalkeeper Alex Meret in the 25th minute and the keeper received a red card. His replacement, David Ospina, was unable to keep out a first-rate free kick from Miralem Pjanic and that handed over the lead to the visitors. Eleven minutes later, Emre Can scored from the set piece to put the game beyond the bed.
For rest of the half, Juventus sat back and saw the game out to hear the half-time instructions from the manager Massimilano Allegri. Two minutes after the referee blew for the kick off of the second half, Miralem Pjanic was sent off for receiving a second yellow card while he tried to handle the ball.
Napoli kept on swarming in numbers inside the opponent's penalty box and got the much-deserved goal when Jose Callejon tapped the ball from close range to cut down the deficit to one. A controversial penalty was awarded to the hosts, but the skipper Lorenzo Insigne could not make full use of it as he hit the crossbar from the spot-kick.
With this defeat, Napoli's hopes of ending their title drought have come to an end unless Juventus slip up in the next few weeks. In this article, we shall look at five individual best and worst performers from the game.
#1 Hit - Piotr Zielinski:
Polish International Piotr Zielinski was one of the best players on the pitch tonight. The Napoli midfielder caused plenty of trouble to Juventus' defence from the start of the game. When Juventus scored at the one end, Napoli were provided with a chance to equalize the score through a counter attack, but Zielinski was not able to take it as the ball hit the post.
He came to light only after Napoli received a red card in the first half. The midfielder was dancing through the right side of the defence and gave so much think for the Old Lady defenders.
Carlo Ancelotti will be delighted with Zielinski's performance, but the result would not satisfy the Napoli boss. The 24-year-old has been eyed by other clubs such as Arsenal and Liverpool for a move in the summer, and it could be hard to keep hold of this talent.
#2 Flop - Nikola Maksimovic:
Nikola Maksimovic started the game really well, but he did not do justice for remaining part of the game. The Serbian International gave away cheap balls and did not deal with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Blaise Matuidi when they were trying to storm past the defence.
During the second goal, his positioning let him down as he jumped way too early to help Emre Can's cause. The defender totally mistimes his jumped and did not get the expected contact to clear the ball away. When the ball was floated in, the Serbian was bound to head the ball to safety.
Standing 1.93 meters, he did not use height as his advantage to help his course in the defensive and offensive part of the game by winning the aerial part of the game. There is no doubt that Maksimovic was one of the worst players on the pitch today. Perhaps, the 27-year-old lacked some confidence too because, after the match, he conceded that things always go like that for Juventus.
#3 Hit - Giorgio Chiellini:
If Giorgio Chiellini failed to stand up to the task like rest of the Juventus defenders, Napoli would have won the game. The Italian International might not have had his best game, but he is streets ahead of other Juventus teammates to win this contest.
The Juventus defender was omnipresent at the back and did well to shut down the likes of Piotr Zielinski, Lorenzo Insigne, and Fabian Ruiz. Since Napoli have been a serious threat from the set pieces, Chiellini got the majority of the headers and cleared them away.
After the first goal when Juventus were caught on the break, Chiellini did well to unsettle Milik who rattled against the crossbar. There is no doubt that the defender must have done well to stop Jose Callejon getting at the end of it, but he stood out throughout the game to secure Juventus' 23rd victory in 26 games. Thus far this season, he is one of the most crucial and consistent players for the club.
#4 Flop - Joao Cancelo:
There is no doubt that Napoli have one of the best attack forces who are very strong through their left flank. Joao Cancelo, who operated as the right-back did not enjoy the night as he was caught out on the break more often than not.
When Juventus scored, Napoli had a chance to level the score in the next minute, but they failed to convert it. When the ball was played to Zielinski, he ran away with the ball from halfway to hit the crossbar. Cancelo was not seen in the picture tracking back the Polish international.
Besides, the likes of Lorenzo Insigne, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Piotr Zielinski kept on tapping on the door of Juventus' defence which left more gap through the right side. The goal came when the Napoli Skipper found Jose Callejon through a cross which was produced from the right side of the defence. He was replaced by Di Sciglio after the first goal in order to not let the second goal creep in.
It was surely a disappointing game for the player.
#5 Hit - Lorenzo Insigne:
Lorenzo Insigne will be a totally disappointed man to not pick up the awarded penalty in the 84th minute. The Italian international rattled the ball at the post when Napoli were given an unconvincing penalty for Alex Sandro's handball inside the six-yard box.
The 27-year-old, who took over the captain's armband from Marek Hamsik, was one of the best players on the pitch despite spurning a late spot-kick to lead the game. He was tormenting Joao Cancelo through the left wing and went past the defence at times with ease.
Napoli's skipper was relentlessly trying to equalize the score for the hosts as he totally took six shots throughout the game. He completed three take-ons and gave Juventus defence a hard time at the back.
It was his delightful delivery which found Jose Callejon inside the penalty box who scored the only goal for the Blues. Certainly, he was one of the bright sparks in Napoli's loss to the Serie A leaders.
