Cristiano Ronaldo and Co eased the pressure on Juve boss Andrea Pirlo after a win over Napoli. Inter Milan, meanwhile, continued their march towards the title with a win over Sassuolo.
On a night of re-arranged ties, Juventus beat Napoli, and Inter Milan beat Sassuolo in a string of results that could have major ramifications by the end of the season. Furthermore, Juventus’ victory proved to be even more important for Pirlo, with the rookie coach coming under scrutiny in recent weeks. His side’s win over top-four rivals Napoli meant that they moved to third in the league table – three points clear of their opponents.
Pirlo decided to start Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata, and Federico Chiesa upfront for this particular match. Paulo Dybala, meanwhile, was left on the bench with the coach opting for Juan Cuadrado on the right-wing. Danilo, who has been one of Juve’s standout performers this season, was deployed as the right-back and nearly supplied the assist for the opening goal. However, his excellent cross was somehow headed wide by Ronaldo from close range. The Portugal international, clearly frustrated at the spurned opportunity, kicked the Napoli post in anger!
Ronaldo, however, made amends for his early miss shortly after. The forward was found by the excellent Chiesa in the box and finished past Alex Meret in the Napoli goal with a first-time shot. At the other end, Gianluigi Buffon was given the nod in goal ahead of Wojciech Szczęsny. The veteran goalkeeper watched on as Lorenzo Insigne’s stunning shot sailed just over the crossbar.
Gennaro Gattuso’s men were the more dominant team on the night in the overall statistics. They saw more of the ball and created more chances than their opponents. However, poor finishing and a lack of clear-cut opportunities proved to be costly for them. Conversely, Juventus made their chances count – as was evident when they went two goals up through substitute Dybala. Rodrigo Bentancur picked the Argentine with a simple pass, and the attacker side-footed the ball past a fully-stretched Meret.
Napoli were awarded a late penalty by the referee when Victor Osimhen was brought down in the box by Giorgio Chiellini. Buffon had made some crucial saves for the Bianconeri throughout the match but could do nothing to stop Insigne’s spot-kick. Nevertheless, Pirlo’s team held onto their advantage and moved to third in the league table – just one point behind AC Milan.
AC Milan looked to be on their way to an unlikely league title for half of the season. However, they were displaced at the top recently by a resurgent Inter Milan. Antonio Conte’s men have become an unstoppable juggernaut in recent weeks and recorded yet another win. They beat Sassuolo 2-1 on the night with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez.
Lukaku scored his 21st league goal of the season to give Inter the lead. The Belgian combined with his ex-Manchester United teammate Ashley Young, whose cross he flicked past a flat-footed Andrea Consigli. The striker then turned provider for Inter’s second goal, as he picked Martinez in acres of space. The Argentine forward took on Consigli and found the corner of the net easily.
Sassuolo replied with a goal from Hamed Traore. The youngster scored the goal of the night as he curled the ball past Samir Handanovic in Inter goal. Nevertheless, Conte’s men held onto their lead till full-time and are now 11 points clear at the top.
