Kalidou Koulibaly fires winner as Napoli strike late to down Juventus
ByTNT Sports
Serie A, Stadio Diego Armando Maradona – Napoli 2 (Politano 57', Koulibaly 85') Juventus 1 (Morata 10’)
A heavily-depleted Juventus side went in front at Napoli but ultimately were beaten thanks to Kalidou Koulibaly's finish five minutes from time.
After Napoli dominated the early play, an awful error from Konstantinos Manolas allowed Alvaro Morata an opportunity to run through on David Ospina from a tight angle and he finished stylishly to give the visitors the lead.
Napoli did not threaten greatly for the rest of the first half but came out with more purpose after the break and when Wojciech Szczesny kept out Lorenzo Insigne's effort Matteo Politano got to the rebound and squeezed the ball home from close range.
It looked like the game would peter out to a draw before substitute Moises Kean mistimed a header and shouldered a ball towards his goal and though Szczesny clawed the ball away from the line the Napoli skipper turned the ball home.
The result puts Napoli top of Serie A, while Juventus, who were without Azzurristar Federico Chiesa and their glut of South American talent, have just one point from three games.
TALKING POINT - SZCZESNY DEBATE WILL GO ON
It was not the worst game from Wojcech Szczesny but after a shaky start to the season, his inability to catch or push Lorenzo Insigne's shot to safety which allowed Napoli back into the game, will do little to dispel discussion about his position. After the leaden-footed reaction to Harry Kane's long-range shot on Wednesday there was even more focus on him before today.
It is harsh for the former Arsenal keeper that it is only a talking point because of a fine reaction and finish from Politano, but that is the pressure of being an heir to Dino Zoff and Gianluigi Buffon. PSG's Keylor Navas, who is likely to lose his position long-term with Gianluigi Donarumma waiting in the wins, has been linked with a move to the Bianconeri in January and, harsh or not on the Polish keeper, he seems a perfect fit.
PLAYER RATINGS
Napoli: Ospina 7; Di Lorenzo 6, Koulibaly 7, Manolas 5, Rui 6; Fabian 6, Anguissa 7, Elmas 5; Politano 8*, Osimhen 6, Insigne 7. Subs: Petagna 6, Lozano 5, Malcuit 5, Ounas 6, Zielinski 6.
Juventus: Szczesny 6; De Sciglio 6, Bonucci 6, Chiellini 7, Pellegrini6; McKennie 6, Locatelli 7, Rabiot 7; Bernardeschi 7, Morata 7, Kulusevski 6. Subs: De Ligt 5, Ramsey 5, Kean 5,
MAN OF THE MATCH - MATTEO POLITANO (NAPOLI)
Napoli were not quite at their fluent best tonight, with Lorenzo Insigne good but not at his unplayable best, and the interplay between midfield and strikers not slick at all.
That said Politano was always lively and ensured Juventus could not switch off and, as his game-high five shots attest, a perennial danger to the visitors' goal.
He could have scored in the first minute when just failing to convert Insigne's cross but put this right just before the hour mark with his tidy finish which prompted a breathe of relief from the vast majority in attendance.
KEY MOMENTS
11' GOAL! Napoli 0-1 Juventus (Morata): Manolas' error puts Morata through on goal and he makes no mistake. That was totally against the run of play.
57' GOAL! Napoli 1-1 Juventus (Politano): A fine curling effort from Insigne is kept out by Szczesny but from a tight angle Politano does superbly to squeeze under the keeper on the rebound.
85' GOAL! Napoli 2-1 Juventus (Koulibaly): Koulibaly slams home from close range to put his side in front. A crazy goal as Szczesny had to palm out Kean's inadvertent shoulder towards his own goal and the Napoli skipper gleefully turned home from two yards out.
KEY STAT
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