3 reasons why Juventus beat Napoli | Serie A 2018-19

#2 Napoli switch off at crucial moments

Napoli and Insigne were left to rue their missed chances

Napoli’s game against the Italian champions was characterized by moments of madness, lapses in concentration and dogged determination. Unfortunately for the host side, the first couple of aspects outweighed the last facet as they crashed to a defeat.

Napoli began the game well and had Juventus on their toes. However, an astray back pass by Malcuit caused the hosts’ first blip. In order to redeem his teammate, Meret came flying out of his blocks only to impede Ronaldo, which got himself a red card.

The second goal too was a classic example of the hosts going to sleep defensively. After a smart short corner routine, Bernardeschi created a different angle on his cross. The left-footed in-swinging delivery caught the Gli Azzurri’s defense off-guard as they failed to pay proper attention to Emre Can. The German made the net ripple with his header.

In the second half, Napoli was guilty of sloppiness in the offensive third. Though they displayed admirable courage in taking the game to Juventus, they lacked composure to play the decisive pass. Matters were made worse in the 84th minute when Lorenzo Insigne struck the frame of the goal from the penalty spot.

Over the years, Napoli has been a real handful in the Italian Serie A and has always been on Juventus’ tail. Yet, they’ve never really gone on to portray themselves as potential title winners.