Raspadori the hero for Napoli as they take down Juventus
The two teams had a very different week before this game, as Juventus reached the UEFA Europa League semi-final and had their 15-point deduction overturned, while Napoli suffered heartbreak and fury in equal measure as they bowed out of the UEFA Champions League against AC Milan.
Things could have got even better for I Bianconeri inside the opening quarter-hour, although Juan Cuadrado and Arkadiusz Milik were denied by Alex Meret after doing well to get their efforts off.
Gli Azzurri almost carved out an opening despite being far from their blistering best, but Hirving Lozano’s effort at the end of a driving run was impressively blocked by Danilo.
The visitors finally recorded their first shots on target after the break as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia worked space for himself well before Giovanni Di Lorenzo rose highest to get a header off at goal, even if both were denied by Wojciech Szczesny.
The opportunities soon dried up again for both teams, prompting Massimiliano Allegri to turn to Angel Di Maria and Federico Chiesa in an effort to bring some much-needed life to proceedings.
The chances initially fell to Victor Osimhen instead, with the Nigerian uncharacteristically failing to take advantage with one attempt clipping the post on its way behind.
Di Maria thought he had scored the late winner this match had been crying out for when he cut inside Juan Jesus and hit a shot that deflected in off the centre-back, but the goal was ruled out following Milik’s foul on Stanislav Lobotka.
With the match finally coming to life in its final minutes, Dusan Vlahovic also had the ball in the net but it had gone out before Chiesa’s cutback to him.
It was eventually Napoli who snatched a victory, as Giacomo Raspadori volleyed Eljif Elmas’ cross through Szczesny’s legs, earning Gli Azzurri a 17-point lead atop Serie A after just their second win in their last six in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Juventus have lost three consecutive league games for the first time since 2011.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Eljif Elmas (Napoli)