Juventus held to draw against Napoli

A difficult match at the Allianz Stadium, where a resilient Napoli held the Bianconeri to a 0-0 draw. It was a third goalless draw in a row for Juve in Serie A, who continued to demonstrate their defensive solidity (zero goals conceded since the start of the season) but struggled to find a way to goal, due in part to a well-organised Napoli side.

Juventus got off to a good start, and in the 10th minute Weston McKennie made a good run to try and get on the end of a Kenan Yildiz cross, but was just unable to get the final touch. In the 29th minute, it was Napoli who came close to taking the lead: Scott McTominay recovered the ball following a Dusan Vlahovic error and saw his long-range effort saved by Michele Di Gregorio. Just before half time on the 46^th minute, Matteo Politano struck an effort on goal from a free kick, but the Bianconeri goalkeeper made a super save to keep the score level.

Second half: Juve on the front foot whilst Napoli defend stubbornly

The second half saw a more determined Juventus side, and in the 52nd minute Timothy Weah, who had just come on, linked up with Yildiz before attempting a shot on the turn, but Elia Caprile, who had taken over from Alex Meret in the first half due to injury, was on hand to save his effort comfortably. In the 67th minute Juventus came close to scoring in spectacular style: Teun Koopmeiners, after a series of quick passes, found Nicolo Savona who in turn played through Nico Gonzalez, but the Napoli defence were able to snuff out the danger.

A few minutes later, in the 70th minute, it was Koopmeiners again who shot on the turn after a nice run by Andrea Cambiaso, but the ball flew just over the crossbar. Juve continued to push, and in the 77th minute Savona won a corner after beating Michael Folorunsho, but it came to nothing.

An intense end to the match: Juve looking to find a winner as Napoli try to hold on

In the final stages, the Bianconeri looked to launch a final assault to bring home the three points. In the 88th minute, a mistake by Folorunsho allowed Weah to recover the ball and go on the counter-attack, but his shot was deflected behind for a corner. In the dying minutes, Juventus continued to press, but in the end it was Gleison Bremer and the Bianconeri defence who were forced to deny a final foray by David Neres in the fourth minute of added time.

Nil-Nil, a fair score after a hard-fought match.

JUVENTUS 0-0 NAPOLI

Allianz Stadium, Saturday 21 September, 2024 at 18:00 (CEST)

Juventus: Di Gregorio, Savona, Kalulu, Bremer, Cambiaso, McKennie (80’ Thuram), Locatelli, Gonzalez, Koopmeiners, Yildiz, Vlahovic (46’ Weah).
Unused Substitutes: Perin, Gatti, Danilo, Adzic, Fagioli, Pinsoglio, Douglas Luiz, Caba, Rouhi, Mbangula.
Coach: Thiago Motta.

Napoli: Meret (36’ Caprile), Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Oilvera, Anguissa, Lobotka (87’ Gilmour), Politano (72’ Folorunsho), McTominay, Kvaratskhelia (72’ Neres), Lukaku (72’ Simeone).
Unused Substitutes: Jesus, Contini, Marin, Zerbin, Ngonge, Mazzocchi, Spinazzola, Raspadori.
Coach: Antonio Conte.

Referee: Daniele Doveri
Assistants: Marco Scatragli, Davide Moro
Fourth Official: Anotnio Giua

Bookings: 33’ McKennie (J)

Next Match:

Genoa-Juventus
Saturday, 28 September, 2024 at 18:00 (CEST)
Stadio Luigi Ferraris