Napoli 3 : 3 Juventus - Juve battle back for point

Posted Tuesday, November 29, 2011 by PA

Serie A leaders Juventus rescued a point - and their unbeaten record - against Napoli in a thrilling six-goal encounter at Stadio San Paolo which ended 3-3.

Marek Hamsik had a lively night, scoring the opener for Napoli after earlier missing a retaken penalty, while Goran Pandev scored the first of two goals to put the hosts two up by half-time.

Alessandro Matri pulled one back for Juve three minutes into the second half and Pandev's second restored the two-goal lead before Marcelo Estigarribia and Simone Pepe earned Juve a draw with goals in the last 18 minutes.

In-form Napoli striker Edinson Cavani failed a fitness test before the match but there was no shortage of attacking action in a match where chances came at regular intervals.

Pepe had the first of them in the third minute, but could not find the target from the edge of the box.

He missed from further out soon after, with Andrea Pirlo also failing to draw a save with a 10th-minute free-kick.

Ezequiel Lavezzi was fouled by Pirlo after 13 minutes to win a penalty for the hosts, with Hamsik converting.

The referee ordered a retake for an infringement and this time Hamsik lifted his spot-kick over the crossbar.

He took only 10 minutes cancelling out his debt, though, finding room in a crowded area to nod home from close range.

Napoli were dominating the pace-setters at this stage, with Pandev and Lavezzi both presented with good chances to make it 2-0.

The former took his second opportunity five minutes from the interval, taking advantage of Pirlo's error before wrong-footing Giorgio Chiellini and slotting past Gianluigi Buffon.

Juve were on the scoresheet three minutes into the second half, Matri converting following some fine work by Arturo Vidal.

Mirko Vucinic and Lavezzi exchanged chances before Napoli's third goal arrived in the 67th minute.

Pandev was again the scorer after defender Leonardo Bonucci hesitated under pressure.

That left Juve struggling to avoid defeat for the 12th time in the league season, but they found a way.

Estigarribia made it 3-2 when he latched on to Matri's headed pass in the 72nd minute and beat Morgan de Sanctis with his right-footed effort.

Six minutes later the night's scoring was ended, Juve breaking quickly after Walter Gargano lost the ball in midfield and Pepe winning his one-on-one with De Sanctis.