Before going head-to-head on Saturday evening, Juventus and Napoli had already separated themselves from the rest of the division. Inter, AS Roma and AC Milan had each shown they have much work to do before they could be considered part of the title race, leaving last season’s top two to battle it out once again at the top of the Serie A table.
That meant that despite the duo having only played six league games, the importance of their latest meeting in Turin simply could not be overstated, the clash once again looking like it would be decisive in the Scudetto race.
Carlo Ancelotti has quickly transformed Napoli, disposing of predecessor Maurizio Sarri’s trident attack, utilising a 4-4-2 formation in order to pair Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens up front. It seemed to pay dividends in the early going and, just as they did last season, the Partenopei took a 1-0 lead at Juventus Stadium.
Pressing high up the pitch and terrorising the Bianconeri backline, Piotr Zielinski’s left-footed effort had already smashed off the post after leaving Wojciech Szczesny beaten, and the visitors maintained that tempo as Allan intercepted a Leonardo Bonucci pass with less than 10 minutes on the clock. The Brazilian threaded through for Jose Callejon, the Spanish winger cushioning a volley perfectly for Mertens to tap in, the travelling supporters dreaming that they might be able to repeat April’s stunning victory.
But as much of an impact Ancelotti has had on Napoli, it pales in comparison to the one Cristiano Ronaldo has already made on Juve. Where last term the Old Lady had no answer for Napoli’s lead, this time her new leading man ensured she responded quickly, completely bamboozling Elseid Hysaj down the flank.
Spinning the helpless defender in circles, the Portuguese star fired a perfectly weighted cross into the box and Emre Can’s superb run to the near-post forced Kalidou Koulibaly to go with him. That left Mario Rui one-on-one with Mario Mandzukic, the latter comfortably winning a header as he towered over the 5ft 6” (1.68m) full-back.
Ronaldo almost brought about a second goal just moments later, David Ospina only able to parry a vicious free kick into the box, Marek Hamsik somehow managing to block Miralem Pjanic’s follow up effort. The half time whistle offered little respite for Napoli, CR7 continuing where he left off immediately after the break as he skipped past two defenders and fired another shot on goal which the keeper once again struggled to deal with.
Mandzukic was perfectly placed to capitalise once again, smashing the ball into an empty net and sending the Curva Sud into delirium as momentum completely swung in favour of the home side. Rui was given a second yellow card for a bad foul on Paulo Dybala, but just as their opponents went down to ten men, Juve suddenly looked tense and allowed Napoli back into the match.
Wojciech Szczesny fumbled one shot shot from Lorenzo Insigne, then needed Alex Sandro to bail him out, the Brazilian stopping Callejon scoring from close range before the winger fluffed a one-on-one with the goalkeeper when he really should’ve scored. Napoli paid for that miss, Leonardo Bonucci turning Ronaldo’s header in at the far post at a corner and at 3-1, there was simply no way back for a defeated Partenopei.
“We did well at the start, but Juve showed quality and experience in the long run,” Mertens told Sky Italia as he left the pitch, yet Allegri was not pleased by the lack of urgency from his side once they had the lead. “Once Napoli went down to 10 men, we stopped playing, and that made me angry,” the Juve boss told reporters. “We ran a big risk on Jose Callejon’s chance and they could easily have equalised. “We need to be sharper.”
That might seem harsh given the final score, but it is that desire for perfection that will push the Bianconeri to success in the long run with the players aware that such lapses must be eradicated.
“We had a bad start, as we misplaced too many passes and were if anything over-eager,” Bonucci said in an interview with Sky Italia. These are three fundamental points and when you are called Juventus, it’s your duty to play the ball and try not to just hoof it away, as we can create with those wonderful players in attack. We conceded after an error playing our way out from the back, but this is a team that is reinforced by obstacles and we proved that again.”
They certainly did, led by Ronaldo’s quality and Mandzukic’s desire. It might be surprising to see the Croatian as the leading scorer, but his new team-mate has already weighed in with three goals and four assists in seven games. The two compliment each other perfectly, swapping roles as each takes a turn on the flank and through the middle, their understanding growing with every match.
It’s still early but, against Napoli, Juventus reminded their rivals just why they are still the best team in Serie A.
