Series A
Napoli give Juventus historic ‘disgrace’
Naples goal scorer Eljif Elmas (l) and Giovanni Di Lorenzo cheer. photo
© Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse/dpa
Italy’s soccer record champions Juventus Turin suffered a historic bankruptcy in the top game of Serie A at SSC Naples.
Italy’s soccer record champions Juventus Turin suffered a historic bankruptcy in the top game of Serie A at SSC Naples.
Turin lost 1: 5 (1: 2) away – that was the highest competitive defeat of the proud “old lady” in almost 30 years. “Juve, the next embarrassment,” headlined Turin’s daily Tuttosport.
Napoli, on the other hand, extended their lead in the championship and are now ten points ahead of Juventus. In the southern Italian port city, the Tifosi can dream more and more of the first championship title since 1990 and the era of Diego Maradona. The “Gazzetta dello Sport” raved about the “Hurricane Napoli”, which swept over Juventus.
Super scorer Victor Osimhen (14th/65th minute), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (39th), Amir Rrahmani (55th) and Eljif Elmas (72nd) scored for the hosts. The Georgian offensive player Kvaratskhelia, who is already called Kvaradona in reference to Naples’ soccer saint Maradona – also prepared three goals. Thousands of Tifosi partied all night long in the lively city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.
Juventus in trouble
Juventus, on the other hand, has to digest a severe setback after the team fought their way back to the top of the table after a weak start to the season with eight championship wins in a row. The goal of Argentinian world champion Angel Di Maria (42nd) was not enough against unleashed Neapolitans. The last time Juventus conceded five goals in Serie A was in May 1993, when they also drew 5-1 against Pescara – curiously enough, the current Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri was one of Pescara’s goalscorers at the time.
In addition, the club from northern Italy is still in deep trouble because of the accusation of balance sheet falsification and market manipulation – the public prosecutor’s office and the Italian sports courts are investigating. Juve face high fines, point deductions or even exclusion from competitions.