This season’s double winners get the Scudetto party started in style with a 3-1 win over Napoli, stretching their unbeaten league run at Juventus Stadium to two full seasons
Goals from Roberto Pereyra, Stefano Sturaro and Simone Pepe saw double winners Juventus round off their Serie A home campaign with a 3-1 win over Napoli, maintaining their unbeaten league record at Juventus Stadium for a second consecutive season.
Pereyra got the party started in the best possible way when he gathered Kingsley Coman’s perfectly weighted through ball before firing home from a matter of yards in the opening stages of the game.
Still in the hunt for a Champions League place, Napoli kicked on in the second half and drew level when David Lopez slammed the ball into the back of the net from close range after Gigi Buffon had denied Lorenzo Insigne from the penalty spot.
Juventus reestablished their lead on 77 minutes when January arrival Sturaro opened his Bianconeri account in style, turning on a sixpence to shake off the attentions of his marker before slamming a fine finish into the back of the net.
And following Miguel Britos’ late headbutt on Alvaro Morata, an action which saw Napoli reduced to 10 men for the game’s closing stages, second-half substitute Pepe stepped up to round off a perfect evening with a well-taken penalty.
With a rapturous crowd cheering them on, Juventus took the lead with just 13 minutes played. Coman, partnering Alvaro Morata for the evening, picked out Pereyra’s forward surge with a sumptuous assist from outside the box, leaving the unmarked Argentine to dispatch a crisp finish past a stranded Mariano Andujar.
Good spells of possession were enjoyed by the Bianconeri throughout the first half but aside from a Paul Pogba direct free-kick that flashed over the bar on 35 minutes, clear-cut chances were in short supply for both sides
With 39 minutes on the clock a banner was unfurled in the Curva Sud in memory of those who tragically lost their lives in the Heysel disaster, drawing applause from all four sides of the ground.
The start of the second half saw Napoli gain an instant opportunity to get back into the game after Kwadwo Asamoah, making his first start since November, was adjudged to have handled in the box. Buffon guessed right to keep Insigne’s penalty out, only for Lopez to arrive first on the scene and sweep the ball home on 50 minutes.
The Partenopei continued to up the ante as the second half wore on and Juventus had to rely on the sharp reflexes of Buffon to prevent Lopez from netting a second, with his superb save from the midfielder’s sweetly struck volley earning an ovation from the home crowd as the game entered its final 20 minutes.
The hosts, however, had other ideas and regained their lead on 77 minutes when Sturaro rolled his marker before jinking into the box and dispatching a fine finish past Andujar.
Two became three in the closing stages after Britos’ off the ball headbutt on Morata, with substitute Pepe rounding off a 3-1 victory and spectacular night by converting from the spot for his first goal of the season.
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