Juventus on Sunday ended all talk of a challenge to their Serie A dominance after coming through a second-half onslaught at SSC Napoli to win 2-1 and stretch their lead at the top to a huge 16 points in an engrossing match that saw each side have a man sent off.
Massimiliano Allegri’s unbeaten leaders have now as good as sealed their eighth straight Serie A title after a match that looked dead at halftime, with Juve two goals and a man up, but sparked back into life when goalscorer Miralem Pjanic was sent off after picking up a second yellow card just after the break for handball.
“I fell asleep, I should have replaced Pjanic when he had the first card. He was at risk, but I didn’t expect him to handle,” said Allegri, whose future at Juve is uncertain after what would be five seasons in Turin. “I already said we’ll sit down to talk about this season and the next. I am very happy to be at Juventus.”
Photo: Reuters
Midfielder Pjanic swept home a free-kick in the 28th minute, which came immediately after Napoli were reduced to 10 men thanks to goalkeeper Alex Meret slicing down Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese nipped in to intercept a terrible Kevin Malcuit backpass.
Emre Can added the second from a corner 11 minutes later after substitute David Ospina tipped away Pjanic’s stinging shot, but the Bosnian’s red card gave Napoli a glimmer of hope.
They were back in the game in the 61st minute when Jose Callejon tapped home a pinpoint Lorenzo Insigne cross and then piled the pressure on a suddenly creaking Juve, with Piotr Zielinski twice forcing fine saves from fellow Pole Wojciech Szczesny.
It looked as though the hosts were set to launch a final assault when they were given a penalty six minutes before the end for a controversial handball decision against Alex Sandro given by the video assistant referee, only for Insigne to crash his spot-kick against the post and let the champions off the hook.
As elsewhere across Serie A this weekend, play at the Stadio San Paolo stopped in the 13th minute to honor the memory of deceased former Italy international Davide Astori, with fans of both sides applauding the former ACF Fiorentina captain, who died in his sleep aged just 31 on March 4 last year.
The most emotional scenes came during Fiorentina’s 3-1 defeat at Atalanta BC, who kept their hopes of a UEFA Champions League spot alive thanks to goals from Josip Ilicic, Alejandro Gomez and Robin Gosens.
Atalanta playmaker Ilicic, who played alongside Astori at Fiorentina, broke down in tears when played stopped, while away fans held up “Astori” signs, and the home fans showed appreciation for a player born and raised in the province of Bergamo, where the hosts are based.
“This situation has taken over a huge part of us this week. Tomorrow we will be close to his family as we have been for the last year,” Fiorentina coach Stefano Pioli said.
Also on Sunday, it was:
‧ Torino 3, AC Chievo Verona 0
‧ Udinese 2, Bologna 1
‧ Genoa 0, Frosinone 0
‧ SPAL 1, UC Sampdoria 2
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