January 07, (THEWILL) – Napoli dropped points in the Serie A title chase after drawing 1-1 against Juventus on Thursday night at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, after maintaining their 23rd minute lead for the whole of the first half.
Early on, Juve dominated and should have taken the lead when Weston McKennie met Federico Bernardeschi’s corner, but the American could only nod wide from the box.
The visitors seized the lead against the run of play, when Dries Mertens collected Matteo Politano’s layoff and fired past both Wojciech Szczesny and the retreating Matthijs de Ligt.
Napoli appeared to have taken the initiative, but they were punished in the second half when Federico Chiesa scored from beyond the box thanks to a deflection from Stanislav Lobotka.
As they were on the ascendancy and pressing for the winner, the home side players were furious with referee Simone Sozza for blowing the final whistle just as they were about to take a corner kick but there was nothing they could do about it as it was time up. Both sides had to settle to a share of the points.
Napoli is now six points behind Serie A leaders Inter, who had their game against Roma postponed on Thursday, and five points behind Milan, who defeated Roma 3-1 as THEWILL reported. Juve, on the other hand, is in fifth place, three points behind fourth-placed Atalanta.
While Juve will take to the road for their next tie, which is against Jose Mourinho’s Roma on Sunday, Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli will welcome Sampdoria to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, on the same day.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
