Napoli Draws Against Juventus and Remains in Title Race
Napoli faced Juventus while undergoing a considerable injury crisis. In spite of this, the Partenopei earned a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Stadium, and, technically, remain in the race for the Scudetto.
Napoli earned what may turn out to be a vital point against Juventus on Thursday. Gli Azzuri opened the scoring against their prestigious rivals. In the end, the Turin’s side’s many attempts on goal allowed them an equalizer.
The result, however, leaves Napoli in touching distance of the Scudetto. All that Luciano Spalletti needs now is fully fit players to deploy.
for this derby, Spalletti opted for a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation for this game. The numerous injury absences left a powerful mark on the team selection. Diego Demme and Stanislav Lobotka were chosen to fulfill a double-pivot setup, with both Fabian Ruiz and Andre-Frank Anguissa unavailable.
Dries Mertens was once again the team’s attacking absence, deputizing for Victor Osimhen. The central defensive pairing of Amir Rrahmani and Juan Jesus has also become a mainstay as substitutes for Kalidou Koulibaly and Kostas Manolas.
Newsworthy was also Spalletti’s decision to start Lorenzo Insigne. Napoli’s captain has recently announced his departure to FC Toronto at the end of the season, once his contract expires.
Napoli opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Belgium maestro, Dries Mertens, took advantage of Matteo Politano’s pass and cleverly found the bottom-left corner with a powerful shot.
Much of the rest of the match was played with Juventus desperately searching for an equalizer and Napoli looking to break on the counterattack.
The Partenopei could have snuck a victory from this game. However, in the 54th minute, Federico Chiesa took advantage of an error from Rrahmani, and drew the score level.
The match would end in a draw. Both teams are in a relatively good position in the standings. Juventus is fifth. Napoli is third.
Both clubs, however, are dealing with serious issues, albeit of different natures. Napoli is still warranted to dream of the Scudetto. However, the team’s squad issues need to be quickly resolved.