Juve suffer defeat against Napoli | OneFootball

Juventus suffered their first league defeat of the season against Napoli, as the hosts fought back in the second half after Juve had taken a first half lead through Randal Kolo Muani's debut goal. An intense, hard-fought match, in which the Bianconeri had good chances but struggled under Napoli’s pressure in the second half.

FIRST HALF: JUVE TAKE THE LEAD THROUGH KOLO MUANI

The match started at a high tempo, with both teams aggressive in their pressing. In the 6th minute Juventus had their first huge chance: Khephren Thuram won the ball and found Kenan Yildiz, who, with a quick turn, created space for himself and let off a left footed strike, only to be denied by an extraordinary save from Alex Meret to keep the score goalless.

The hosts reacted and in the 20th minute they created a dangerous double chance: Giovanni Di Lorenzo got in behind down the right and crossed for Romelu Lukaku, who was denied by Federico Gatti. The ball ended up at the feet of Matteo Politano, whose volleyed effort went just wide.

After a period of equilibrium and a tough midfield battle, Juventus took the lead in the 42nd minute: Kolo Muani controlled his effort well to beat Meret with a precise volley, scoring his first goal in a black and white shirt. Juventus ahead 1-0 at half-time.

SECOND HALF: NAPOLI COMEBACK

Napoli started strongly and in the 49th minute came close to equalising: a perfect cross from David Neres for Lukaku, whose header from a few yards out was saved by a magnificient stop from Michele Di Gregorio, who made sure the Bianconeri retained their lead.

Juve tried to manage the game, but in the 56th minute Napoli equalised: Politano’s delivery found Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa at the back post, who slotted the ball past Di Gregorio to make it 1-1.

Napoli pushed on and in the 67th minute found the breakthrough. Manuel Locatelli committed a foul on Scott McTominay in the box, the referee had no doubts and awarded a penalty. Lukaku beat Di Gregorio from the spot to make it 2-1.

Thiago Motta tried to reverse his side’s fortunes by introducing reinforcements from the bench, with Samuel Mbangula and Nicolo Savona coming on first, followed by Francisco Conceicao and Dusan Vlahovic, but Napoli stood strong defensively. In the 78th minute Weston McKennie showed great anticipation to prevent Politano from finding the back of the net, while in the 86th minute Douglas Luiz did well to get something on a dangerous cross from Giovanni Simeone, with Cyril Ngonge lurking.

Juventus tried to attack in the closing stages, but were unable to create any clear cut chances. After five minutes of added time, the final whistle blew: Napoli won 2-1 and handed Juventus their first league defeat of the campaign.

Gallery | Napoli - Juventus

NAPOLI 2-1 JUVENTUS

Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Saturday 25 January, 2025 at 18:00 (CET) Serie A – Matchday 22

Goals: 43’ Kolo Muani (J), 57’ Anguissa (N), 69’ Lukaku (Pen.) (N)

Napoli: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan, Spinazzola, Anguissa, Lobotka (89’ Gilmour), McTominay, Politano (82’ Mazzocchi), Lukaku (89’ Simeone), Neres (90+2’ Ngonge). Unused Substitutes: Contini, Billing, Marin, Hasa, Raspadori, Scuffet. Coach: Antonio Conte.

Juventus: Di Gregorio, McKennie, Gatti, Kalulu, Cambiaso (65’ Savona), Locatelli (74’ Douglas Luiz), Thuram, Yildiz (65’ Mbangula), Koopmeiners, Nico Gonzalez (74’ Conceicao), Kolo Muani (82’ Vlahovic). Unused Substitutes: Perin, Costa, Adzic, Fagioli, Weah, Pinsoglio, Rouhi. Coach: Thiago Motta.

Referee: Daniele Chiffi Assistants: Alessio Berti, Pietro Dei Giudici Fourth Official: Luca Zufferli

Bookings: 45’ Cambiaso (J), 72’ Lobotka (N), 90+1’ Spinazzola (N), 90+6’ Koopmeiners (J)

Next Match:

Juventus-Benfica UEFA Champions League – League Phase – Matchday 8 Wednesday, 29 January, 2025 at 21:00 (CET) Allianz Stadium