Juventus 4-3 Napoli: Kalidou Koulibaly’s Own Goal Decides Clash Of Titans In Serie A

The first meeting between the top two title contenders in the Serie A this season could not have had a better development. Napoli and Juventus delivered a mouthwatering, intense, goal-filled match that was only decided on stoppage time. The reigning Serie A champions won 4-3 thanks to an own goal from Kalidou Koulibaly.

Juventus grab a quick lead before the 20th minute mark

The Old Lady jumped to a quick two-goal lead thanks to two goals before the 20th minute mark in the first half. Full-back Danilo, who had entered the game roughly one minute before this sequence to replace the injured Mattia De Sciglio, was at the end of an impressive solo effort from Douglas Costa to find the back of the net. Napoli hadn’t settled and Gonzalo Higuain doubled Juventus’ lead with a fierce shot into the top corner.

Napoli looked stunned in the remainder of the first half and they went down by two goals after the break. However, Carlo Ancelotti made two key substitutions at the break – Mario Rui replaced Faouzi Ghoulam, and Hirving Lozano replaced Lorenzo Insigne. The Mexican looked impressive in his debut, but it seemed as if his entrance wouldn’t make an impact since Juventus extended their lead to three goals thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese superstar took advantage of a low cross from Douglas Costa – one of the top players for Juventus in this match – and placed the ball out of Alex Meret’s reach. The game appeared decided after 62 minutes, but Napoli were not ready to give up. Not yet.

Lozano leads Napoli’s comeback, but Koulibaly melts down the stretch

Four minutes after Ronaldo’s goal, Kostas Manolas pulled one back with a header from close range following a cross from Rui. And Lozano made it 3-2 with a superb finish after an assist from Piotr Zielinski just two minutes later. Out of nowhere, Napoli made it a one-goal game in a four-minute span. And that momentum allowed them to equalize the match with less than 10 minutes left on the clock.

This time, it was defender Giovanni di Lorenzo who placed the ball past Wojciech Szczesny following another set-piece delivery, this time from Jose Callejon. It would have been a great result for Napoli after turning a three-goal deficit around, but they couldn’t hold on to the draw.

Juventus had one final ball in the 92nd minute and a cross into the box found Koulibaly all alone to clear the danger away. But instead of sending the ball into Row Z, somehow the Senegal international deflected it into the upper right corner and in an impossible angle for Meret. Juventus grabbed a 4-3 lead following that play, and Napoli did not have enough time to mount another comeback.

It was a great win for Juventus, but it also represents a great result for the Serie A, given the way these two sides went back and forth during the entire match.

Match Report

Juventus: Szczesny (5); De Sciglio (-) (Danilo (6), 15’), Bonucci (5), de Ligt (6), Alex Sandro (5); Khedira (5) (Emre Can (5), 60’), Pjanic (6), Matuidi (6); Douglas Costa (7), Higuain (6) (Dybala (-), 75’), Cristiano Ronaldo (7)

Napoli: Meret (5); Di Lorenzo (5), Manolas (6), Koulibaly (4), Ghoulam (4) (Mario Rui (6), 46’); Callejon (6), Zielinski (6), Allan (7) (Elmas (4), 74’), Insigne (5) (Lozano (7), 46’); Fabian (6); Mertens (5)

Goals: Danilo (1-0, 16’), Higuain (2-0, 19’), Cristiano Ronaldo (3-0, 62’), Manolas (3-1, 66’), Lozano (3-2, 68’), Di Lorenzo (3-3, 81’), Koulibaly (OG, 4-3, 90+2’)

Referee: Daniele Orsato

Yellow Cards: Matuidi, Alex Sandro, Douglas Costa (JUV); Ghoulam, Di Lorenzo, Elmas (NAP)

Red Cards: None

Attendance: 39,203