January 25, (THEWILL) — Juventus inflicted a damaging blow to Napoli’s Serie A title defence with a convincing 3-0 victory at Allianz Stadium. Goals from Jonathan David, Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic condemned Antonio Conte to a painful return to the club where he won three consecutive championships between 2011/2012 and 2013/2014. The result leaves the Partenopei nine points behind league leaders Inter.
The Bianconeri dominated the opening exchanges in Turin, with Khephren Thuram striking the woodwork from inside the penalty area. Luciano Spalletti’s men broke through in the 22nd minute when David latched onto Manuel Locatelli’s flick and finished at Alex Meret’s near post. Francisco Conceicao nearly added a second moments later, only for Alessandro Buongiorno to clear Yildiz’s pass off the line.
The second period saw few clear opportunities for either side until Napoli gifted their opponents a second goal. Juan Jesus misplaced a pass in the 77th minute, allowing substitute Fabio Miretti, on the pitch for just 36 seconds, to set up Yildiz, who slotted past the onrushing Meret.
Kostic wrapped up the points four minutes from the final whistle with a superb left-footed effort from outside the penalty area that flew into the bottom-right corner. The victory strengthens Juventus’ position whilst dealing a serious setback to Napoli’s hopes of retaining their crown.
The defeat will concern Conte, whose side struggled to create chances throughout and were punished for defensive lapses. With Inter extending their advantage at the top, the gap may prove too large to bridge in the remaining matches.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
