With Milan held at Catania, the gap at the top is down to two points as Juve confidence increased the pressure on the champions.
Sunday’s night encounter between Juventus and Napoli fired the imagination. With Milan having dropped points at Vincenzo Montella’s continually impressive Catania the previous day, Antonio Conte’s men knew they had to take advantage of a rare Rossoneri slip-up if their Scudetto dream was to stay alive.
Meanwhile, Napoli were unbeaten in their previous nine league games and with Lazio and Udinese having both dropped points on the Saturday, it gave the Neapolitans an opportunity to move into 3rd place and move a step closer to qualification for next season’s Champions League, a competition which they graced with their presence this year.
Apart from the points at stake, the encounter would also allow fans to enjoy two of Serie A’s most entertaining sides with players such as Cavani, Hamsik, Lavezzi, Pirlo, Marchisio and Del Piero all potential match-winners. The reverse fixture in November produced a 3-3 classic with two late Juve goals salvaging a point and ensuring that their unbeaten run continued.
That unbeaten run still remains, making them the only team in any of Europe’s top leagues with that distinction, despite Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani protestations to the contrary. Two weeks ago, Galliani wrote to Gazzetta dello Sport, insisting Juventus should no longer be described as “unbeaten” under Antonio Conte – as they had trailed the Rossoneri 2-1 on the night after 90 minutes of their Coppa Italia semi-final second leg – but which Juventus then won in extra-time.
However, the Turin side have benefited from the lack of European competition this season and with a larger squad than their southern opponents, Conte has been able to rotate his forward options between Matri, Del Piero, Quagliarella, Borriello and Vucinic, a luxury not available to Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri. His ‘Three Tenors’ attack of Cavani, Hamsik and Lavezzi has taken the field in virtually every tie – injury and suspension aside – and the trio have recently looked somewhat flatter, especially the former pair, with only the veteran Goran Pandev available as a viable alternative.
And so it followed on the night. Despite the best efforts of Lavezzi, the much-vaunted Napoli counter-attack rarely clicked into gear and Hamsik would be replaced with 20 minutes still remaining and the game still in the balance. ‘El Matador’ Edinson Cavani fared little better and indeed, by the end of the tie, Napoli had registered no attempts on target, which might be a first for a side second only to Milan in the scoring charts.
At the other end, Juve might have quantity but you would question the quality. Marco Borriello fared little better than the Napoli trio as he endured a horrible night which got even worse for the ex-Roma and Milan player as he was jeered by his own fans when eventually substituted. At that point, Juve held a precarious one goal lead which had come through a deflected effort by the defender Leonardo Bonucci and a lot of nerves remained inside a packed Juventus Stadium.
But following a series of stepovers that either Ronaldo would be proud of, Arturo Vidal smashed home a second which settled those nerves and from then on, Juventus played some champagne football against a clearly demoralised Napoli side. With 8 minutes remaining, Del Piero made his introduction and with his very first involvement, he set-up another substitute, Quagliarella, for Juve’s 3rd goal, which sealed a comprehensive victory.
Conte plays down title hopes
Following the win, the Juve coach remained cautious about his side’s title chances: “Only Milan can lose the Scudetto. I think in terms of quality and squad, they are superior to everyone else. But to be just two points behind the league leaders with eight games remaining gives my team and our fans strength and courage.”
“In the last two weeks we have achieved important wins against Inter Milan and Napoli, two sides that at the start of the campaign were considered to be superior to us,” Conte said.
“I can only thank my players, who have done something extraordinary.”
As for Napoli, it would be a shame if their season was to fall apart through fatigue but if they can refocus, they still have a lot to play for this season as highlighted by chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis.
“Third place is still up for grabs, seeing as Udinese and Lazio also lost,” De Laurentiis told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We have got to scrape together the remaining energy we have and rediscover the sharpness that all the teams that competed in Europe are struggling with now.
“The game at Juventus would have finished differently had we not played in the Champions League this season and Juve had European competition in their legs,’” De Laurentiis said.
“It’s a big responsibility to play on three fronts this season at this level and I think coach Walter Mazzarri is doing very well.”
Napoli will make the short trip up to Rome to face Lazio on Saturday with that game giving Mazzarri’s side an opportunity to immediately make amends for this loss to Juventus and take points off a direct rival for the final Champions League qualifier spot.
And as for revenge being a dish best served cold, Napoli will get that opportunity when they face Conte’s Bianconeri again in the Coppa Italia final in the Olimpico on May 20.
The league season finishes a week before this final so will Juventus have gone the whole season unbeaten and will they be chasing a league and cup double? Or will Aurelio De Laurentiis get his reward for rebuilding Napoli after bankruptcy in 2004 by adding the club’s first silverware in over 20 years to a place in next season’s Champions League? Time will tell.
Results
Catania 1-1 AC Milan, Parma 3-1 Lazio, AS Roma 5-2 Novara, Bologna 1-3 Palermo, Cagliari 2-0 Atalanta, Fiorentina 1-2 Chievo Verona, Inter 5-4 Genoa, Lecce 0-0 Cesena, Siena 1-0 Udinese, Juventus 3-0 Napoli
Fixtures
Saturday, April 7
AC Milan v Fiorentina
Atalanta v Siena
Cagliari v Inter
Cesena v Bologna
Chievo Verona v Catania
Lecce v AS Roma
Novara v Genoa
Udinese v Parma
Palermo v Juventus
Lazio v Napoli
Tuesday, April 10
Chievo Verona v AC Milan
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