Napoli triumph at the Maradona
Napoli beat Juventus at the Stadio Maradona and secure their fourth consecutive win between Serie A and Champions League matches. The Azzurri scored the opener with an attack down the right flank with David Neres, who crossed it into the middle for Rasmus Hojlund’s bicycle kick: 1-0. Juventus scored the equaliser in the 59th minute with a diagonal shot by Kenan Yildiz. Then came a second goal by Hojlund in the 78th minute: his successful header sealed the victory for Napoli.
Here is what coach Antonio Conte had to say about the game:
“We are really giving it everything and I want to congratulate the team who have responded very well and were able to compensate for the many absences”.
“I want to thank the team because their attitude on the pitch really made me proud. I saw a level of responsibility and personality on the pitch that impressed me. I want to congratulate the players who are giving it their all even though we were in an emergency situation.”
“Now we are going to rest and then we will prepare our upcoming game against Benfica. We need to regain energy, but I believe that with this determination we can make the most of our potential.”
Rasmus Hojlund was the man of the match:
“I’m happy I scored, but it was all thanks to the team. I try to give it everything to succeed and I’m happy with what we did tonight.”
“We’d worked on some tactics with the coach to attack their goal from wide crosses and we were able to execute what we’d prepared. Now we have to keep pushing. I want to thank my team-mates for this great victory.”
Eljif Elmas was also very satisfied:
“We showed great quality and attention throughout the game. I tried to perform my role to the best of my ability. We do well because we are always able deliver excellent performances, even when we have some absences.”
“I covered the build-up today. What matters is that we are available to the rest of the team and that we have reached our goal. We prepared this game with the coach knowing that we had to press them high. We deserved this win because of what we did on the pitch.”
Napoli 2-1 Juventus (HT 1-0)
Scorers: Hojlund 7, Yildiz 59, Hojlund 78
NAPOLI: Milinkovic-Savic; Beukema, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Di Lorenzo, Elmas, McTominay, Olivera (Spinazzola 70), Neres, Lang (Vergara 86), Hojlund.
Coach: Antonio Conte.
JUVENTUS: Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Kelly, Koopmeiners; Cabal (David 46), Thuram (Zhegrova 82), Locatelli, Cambiaso (Kostic 71), Conceicao (Miretti 75), McKennie, Yildiz (Openda 76).
Coach: Luciano Spalletti.
Referee: Federico La Penna
Booked: Buongiorno, Kalulu, Beukema
