The big match duel between Juventus and Napoli colored the 17th week of the Serie A competition. Juve challenged Napoli, which is ranked first in the Italian League standings. Juve’s challenge becomes meaningless for Napoli when considering the results of the match. Unmitigated, Napoli hit Juventus with a landslide score of 5-1.
Playing in front of his own supporters at the Diego Amando Maradona stadium, Napoli appeared to dominate the entire match. Juve looked helpless over the organization and cohesiveness of Napoli’s game. Actually, Juventus came to Napoli with a smattering of optimism. With the status of a team ranked 2nd in the standings and winning in the last 8 matches with a record of not conceding a goal, Juve has the opportunity to cut the gap with Napoli.
What’s more, Napoli, who before the world cup break was unbeaten, finally suffered their first defeat against Inter. Napoli’s unbeaten record collapsed after the world cup. The defeat seemed to open the door to competition at the top of the Italian League standings. Juve including a team that started aiming for the top of the standings. Hence, visiting Napoli is a momentum to shorten the point gap with Napoli.
In short, Juve came to Napoli headquarters with a record of consistency from the last 8 matches so that the team that had struggled at the start of this season managed to climb to 2nd place in the Italian League standings.
However, Juve’s ambitions were not accomplished. What happened to the team nicknamed “The Old Lady” was disastrous. V. Osimhen and friends appear more compact as a team to destroy Juve. Juve’s consistency collapsed at Napoli headquarters. Instead of wanting to extend their record of not conceding a goal in the last 8 matches, Juve were instead hit by Napoli’s effective and aggressive game. Instead of wanting to cut the distance with Napoli to 3 points, Juve must be willing to keep the distance from Napoli even further away.
No doubt, Napoli’s chances of becoming champions this season are increasingly open. Even though there are still many matches to be played, the victory of a team like Juve is very important to measure the quality, readiness and mentality of the team.
In terms of performance, Napoli appeared to dominate. Napoli recorded 12 shots at goal, and 10 were on target, and 5 resulted in goals. Meanwhile, Juve, who recorded 6 shots against Napoli, only produced 2 shots on target.
Each line of Napoli plays a major role in locking Juve’s game. So, there are no players who stand out. What stands out is the team’s play in silencing Juve’s strengths. Napoli gave a very clear message through the victory against Juve. Napoli is a strong rival for trophies this season.
Through a landslide victory against Juve, Napoli showed a strong ambition to maintain their position in the first place and the ambition to win the championship at the end of the season. Even though Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti thinks that the match against Juve is not a determining factor for the championship, Napoli’s performance against Juve has shown Napoli’s readiness to become a champion.
Yes, Napoli’s performance this season has been amazing. Napoli recorded 14 wins, 2 draws and only 1 defeat. Napoli are at the top of the Italian League standings since the competition started. If it continues to maintain its level of consistency, Napoli will have the chance to win the Scudetto for the third time, after 1987 and 1990.
Furthermore, Napoli’s chances of becoming champions cannot be separated from the progress of the team nicknamed “The Little Donkey” over the last few seasons. Napoli is often a strong competitor in the top 4 of the Italian League.
Thanks to that experience, Napoli’s mentality has been awakened long before their slick performance this season. In a way, this season is the climax of Napoli’s series of achievements in the Italian Serie A League.
ASL
