Napoli 1 Juventus 2: Pjanic scores and sees red before Insigne penalty woe - 7M sport

Napoli 1 Juventus 2: Pjanic scores and sees red before Insigne penalty woe



Posted Monday, March 04, 2019 by Goal.com

Napoli 1 Juventus 2: Pjanic scores and sees red before Insigne penalty woe

Miralem Pjanic opened the scoring but followed Alex Meret in receiving a red card as Juventus held out for a 2-1 win over Napoli.

Lorenzo Insigne's penalty cannoned agonisingly back off the post as Napoli lost 2-1 to runaway leaders Juventus in a Serie A thriller that saw both teams finish with 10 men.

Miralem Pjanic converted the 28th-minute free-kick after Napoli's young goalkeeper Alex Meret was sent off for a professional foul on Cristiano Ronaldo and Emre Can made it 2-0 before half-time.

Despite operating with reduced numbers, Napoli hit the post through Piotr Zielinski between the Juve goals and Pjanic's second yellow card for deliberate handball gave them hope – as did Jose Callejon's 61st-minute goal.

Insigne provided a superb assist but could not complete the comeback after Alex Sandro fell foul of a VAR review for handball having blocked Fabian Ruiz's goalbound shot.

Napoli's relentless pressure then dropped off and Massimiliano Allegri's undefeated Juve now boast a mammoth 16-point lead over Carlo Ancelotti's men at the summit.

Zielinski arrowed a first-time shot just wide in the 11th minute following an error by Juventus centre-back Leonardo Bonucci.

Ronaldo thrashed his first opening over but was in the thick of the game's first turning point, when Meret dashed from his area to rashly bring down the Juve superstar after Kevin Malcuit's dreadful backpass sold him short.

Ancelotti sacrificed Arkadiusz Milik to bring on David Ospina and the substitute goalkeeper's first act was to pick Pjanic's immaculate free-kick out of his net.

Napoli thrillingly took the game to Juve despite reduced numbers, with the irrepressible Zielinski thudding a shot against the post.

Ospina beat another sweet Pjanic strike over the bar in the 39th minute, only for Can's deflected header from a well-worked short corner to double the advantage.

Pjanic had been booked for a 36th-minute foul on Callejon and the game took another twist when he walked early in the second half.

And Callejon breathed new life into Napoli's challenge as he turned in Insigne's brilliant left-wing cross from close range.

Wojciech Szczesny saved on the angle from Zielinski amid blue waves of attacks before his post denied a crestfallen Insigne from 12 yards.

 



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