Napoli 1-0 Juventus: Bianconeri miss out on chance to close the gap to leaders AC Milan after Lorenzo Insigne scores from the spot to take weight off shoulders of under-pressure manager Gennaro Gattuso
- Lorenzo Insigne scored from the spot following a foul by Giorgio Chiellini
- Juventus were dominant in the second-half but could not find the back of the net
- The result leaves Andrea Pirlo’s side seven points behind AC Milan in the table
Lorenzo Insigne’s first-half penalty earned Napoli a 1-0 win over Juventus in Serie A on Saturday, with a first defeat in eight in all competitions leaving the champions seven points behind league leaders AC Milan in the standings.
Veteran defender Giorgio Chiellini was penalised for a foul on Napoli’s Amir Rrahmani in the penalty area to concede a 31st-minute spot kick, which Insigne converted to score what proved to be the winner and his 100th goal in all competitions for Napoli.
Juventus looked a shadow of their normal selves offensively in the first half but improved after the break, with Federico Chiesa denied by a fine save from Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Napoli fought hard to win and move two points behind Juventus in the Serie A standings
Cristiano Ronaldo and co had a frustrating night as they were unable to break Napoli down
Under-pressure manager Gennaro Gattuso celebrated with his players following the game
Cristiano Ronaldo was having an off day in front of goal, missing a glorious chance with his head late on to snatch a point., with Napoli seeing out the win to move into fourth on 40 points, two behind Juventus in third.
The result gives manager Gennaro Gattuso a boost amid recent calls for his sacking as he got one over his former AC Milan team-mate Andrea Pirlo.
‘We are happy with the result, but above all the performance, because we worked as a team, fighting together to the end and Chucky was shattered at the end, so we were basically down to 10. We still united as a team and brought home the victory,’ Insigne told Sky Sport Italia.
Giorgio Chiellini gave away a penalty here for a coming together with Amir Rahrmani
Lorenzo Insigne made no mistake from the spot tucking the ball past Wojciech Szczesny
Juventus dominated the second-half of the game but couldn’t get the ball past Alex Meret
‘This season hasn’t been as good as last year yet, but we had so many problems from injuries to COVID, and lost David Ospina in the warm-up too today.
‘We can’t let it distract us, we need to stay calm and focused, just keep going.’
It was Insigne’s 100th goal in the Napoli jersey, but also ended his curse of missing three previous spot-kicks against the Bianconeri, one only last month in the Supercoppa.
‘I was calm, because I know the coach and my teammates have faith in me and that is enough. I am still sad about what happened in the Supercoppa, but if I just think about mistakes of the past, I will never be able to move on. I have to keep going.
‘It’s special as a Neapolitan to seal this victory over Juventus and I dedicate it to my wife for Valentine’s Day.’
It was an unusually wasteful night for Ronaldo who missed some good chances to equalise
Gennaro Gattuso got one over Andrea Pirlo in the battle of the former AC Milan team-mates
The result gives the Napoli boss a boost after recent calls for him to be sacked from his role