Saturday 2 December 2017

Napoli 0 Juventus 1: Gonzalo Higuain sinks Serie A leaders

GONZALO HIGUAIN revived Juventus' title dream by sinking leaders Napoli with his fifth goal in five games against his old club.
The Argentina striker neatly finished off Paulo Dybala's 12th minute pass before Juve successfully soaked up the home side's pressure.
 Juventus celebrate after clinching what they know could be a vital victory
Juventus,  Serie A champions for the past six seasons, not only ended Napoli's unbeaten league start but also narrowed the gap at the top to just one point.
Napoli dominated possession but failed to create a single clear chance, rarely testing veteran Juve keeper Gianluigi Buffon.
Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus were superbly organised and stubborn in defence, more and more denying Napoli space.
And Juve's winner typified the counter-attacking qualities that have typified their recent title-winning campaigns. Higuain kept his composure to drill clinically past ex-Liverpool keeper Jose Reina.
One-time Arsenal target Higuain peeled away to celebrate, sparking boos from his former supporters.
 Maurizio Sarri's Napoli never quite seemed as hungry as Juve, who perhaps knew they needed victory before.
And in Higuain and Douglas Costa, Juventus had two meancing players on the break.
Buffon palmed away Marek Hamsik's 25-yarder and then thwarted Lorenzo Insigne following a brief lapse from the Juve backline.
Blaise Matuidi's volley was brilliantly turned over by Reina when Juve tried to steal a second-half goal.
And the closest Napoli came, amid their late pressure, was an Insigne shot fired just wide.
From The Sun

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