A mesmerising Napoli annihilated Juventus 5-1 at the Stadio Diego Maradona on Friday evening as they extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table to 10 points on Matchday 18.
Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored for the Partenopei while Angel Di Maria pulled one back for the Bianconeri in the first half. Amir Rrahmani added the third after the break before Osimhen grabbed his second for the game and Eljif Elmas sealed the rout.
Napoli break down Juventus block
Napoli took the lead after 14 minutes after Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved a bicycle kick from Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen scored from the rebound with a header.
Di Maria nearly brought the Bianconeri level after beating two defenders and shooting from distance, only to be denied by the crossbar.
The Partenopei doubled their lead in the 39th minute when the ball was flicked towards Osimhen, and after it came off Alex Sandro, the Nigerian striker passed to Kvaratskhelia, who placed a low shot past Szczesny.
Not long after, Di Maria pulled it back to 2-1 with a well-placed shot after the ball was deflected off Kim Min-jae. Juve nearly equalised as Amir Rrahmani came close to putting the ball into his own net but Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret made a superb save.
Juventus torn apart in the second half by Napoli
Szczesny needed to be alert after the break as he had to deny Osimhen at the near post. However, Rrahmani from the resulting corner made it 3-1 with a stunning strike after Kvaratskhelia’s delivery from the right. Osimhen almost made it 4-1 to Napoli after a Gleison Bremer error but he blasted the ball over the bar.
Osimhen eventually scored the fourth for the Neapolitans in the 65th minute after Bremer was dispossessed by Kvaratskhelia and the Georgian sent a delightful cross onto the head of the Nigeria international. Elmas, who came on at half-time for the injured Matteo Politano, dribbled past Filip Kostic and made it 5-1 with the aid of a deflection.
Napoli now have 47 points from 18 matches while Juventus are on 37 with AC Milan, who are yet to play.
