Juventus vs Napoli Report
Juventus 4-2 Napoli (aet): Bianconeri see off nine-man Partenopei in extra time
Walter Mazzarri's men gave away the lead on two occasions and
then imploded in the closing stages of normal time, enabling the Turin
side to secure their fifth Supercoppa title
Juventus came from behind twice to defeat a
nine-man Napoli 4-2 after extra-time in a truly exhilarating encounter
at a drenched Bird's Nest stadium in China.
Edinson Cavani handed the side from Naples the
lead after 27 minutes but his strike was cancelled out by Kwadwo
Asamoah 10 minutes later. Goran Pandev pounced on a defensive error to
regain Napoli's advantage before half time but a penalty from Arturo
Vidal tied the score at 2-2 in the 76th minute.
The Azzurri self-destructed towards
the end of normal time as Pandev, their coach Walter Mazzarri, and
Camilo Zuniga were all sent from the field of play. Juve then took full
advantage of their additional men in the extra time that followed as a
Cristian Maggio own goal was followed by a winner from Mirko Vucinic.
Due to Antonio Conte's 10-month suspension banning him from the touchline, his assistant Massimo Carrera took charge of the Bianconeri
for the game. They assumed control inside the opening 15 minutes but
for all of Stephan Lichtsteiner's continual forays down the right flank,
the creation of a clear-cut opportunity remained elusive.
Juve's inability to test Morgan De Sanctis ended up costing them dearly in the 27th minute when a high defensive line allowed Cavani
to stream through on goal. He attempted to round Buffon and although
the keeper got a hand to the ball and forced him wide, the Uruguayan
remained composed and stabbed his effort home.
Napoli failed to
capitalise on a poor throw-in from Asamoah as Buffon held Pandev's
volley from inside the area but the Ghanaian more than atoned for that
lapse in the 37th minute. A long ball from left to right by Vidal was
lashed into the bottom corner with a perfectly executed 18-yard volley
from Asamoah.
However, the scores were not tied for long as the Azzurri regained their advantage four minutes before the break. Leonardo Bonucci's clearance rebounded off of Pandev's
chest and put him in on goal from the left wing. The defender's efforts
to chase him down were in vain as the forward produced a delicate
finish, dinking the ball over Buffon and into the net.
Vucinic
replaced Alessandro Matri for the Turin outfit at half time and his
introduction certainly galvanised his side. After three minutes he
rattled the bar and he then saw his goal-bound effort, after rounding De
Sanctis, blocked by Paolo Cannavaro before the hour mark.
Andrea Pirlo had a long-range free kick saved between the Montengrin's two efforts but the Bianconeri's
improved attacking display eventually paid dividends with 16 minutes
left on the clock. Vucinic was dragged down in the area by substitute
Federico Fernandez and Vidal converted the penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way.
The
game became increasingly ill-tempered and Pandev and Zuniga were shown
utterly stupid red cards, the former for dissent and the latter for two
clumsy challenges, in the closing stages, while coach Mazzarri was also
sent from the touchline. With the score level at the final whistle the
game went to extra time and Napoli were thus forced to contest it with
nine men.
The reigning Serie A champions made their two-man
advantage count with a pair of goals in the first half of the additional
30 minutes. Maggio diverted a Juve free kick from the right into his own goal after De Sanctis failed to clear and Vucinic added the finishing touch to a delightful flick from Claudio Marchisio to put the game well beyond the Partenopei.
The final whistle was greeted by scenes of jubilation among the Bianconeri players
who lifted the fifth Supercoppa Italiana in the club's history in what
was a game that truly had everything and served as a fantastic
curtain-raiser for the 2012-13 domestic Italian season which begins in
two weeks.
Source : Goal.com