Devastating Juve deal hammer blow to Napoli's Serie A title defence
Juventus struck a major setback against Napoli's efforts to retain their Serie A crown on Sunday, securing a 3-0 victory in Turin that positioned the defending champions nine points adrift of frontrunners Inter Milan.
Goals from Jonathan David, Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic lit up the match in Turin, as Juventus, under the fresh impetus of Luciano Spalletti, climbed back to fifth place with a commanding performance against their longstanding adversaries.
Juventus now sit on 42 points, matching fourth-placed Roma, and could edge into Champions League qualification spots if the Roman side falters against AC Milan in the evening's later game.
"We performed exceptionally and enjoyed ourselves... today we shone," Yildiz shared with DAZN.
"We relished the game on the field and the atmosphere with supporters, fingers crossed we maintain this form."
Napoli hold a slim one-point edge over both Juventus and Roma, while also glancing nervously at Como, who trail by two more points in sixth after their emphatic six-goal rout of Torino on Saturday.
Roma could surpass Napoli for third place provided they avoid defeat to second-ranked Milan, who aim to narrow the six-point divide with city rivals Inter.
Napoli now shift focus to their midweek trip to Chelsea, a clash that will determine if Antonio Conte's squad advances in the Champions League.
Conte faces challenges with multiple injuries, though the sole bright spot from a dismal outing for Napoli was Romelu Lukaku's season debut, entering as a late substitute.
"I have no complaints about the players, they poured in maximum effort," Conte remarked to Sky.
"At times you conquer the obstacles, at others you fall short... We are aware of the injury woes, but dwelling on it helps no one, we press on regardless."
Troubled Napoli
The Belgian forward Lukaku was poised to enter just as Yildiz clinched the game in the 77th minute, calmly slotting in Juventus's second goal following a careless error by a Napoli defender who handed possession to Fabio Miretti.
This proved the turning point, with Napoli remaining competitive despite scant attacking threat, after David had opened the scoring around the halfway mark of the first half.
Jovic added the finishing touch four minutes from the end, blasting in a fierce low shot that inflated the winning margin beyond what the game's flow suggested.
Ex-Napoli player Giacomo Raspadori marked his complete debut for Atalanta with a goal, helping the Bergamo outfit to a 4-0 demolition of Parma, rebounding from a tough midweek loss to Athletic Bilbao.
Gianluca Scamacca, Marten de Roon and Nikola Krstovic added the remaining strikes in an easy win for Raffaele Palladino's charges, who prepare to host surging Como next weekend.
Bologna find themselves 10 points behind Como, holders of the Conference League position, after squandering a two-goal advantage to suffer a 3-2 defeat at Genoa, who stretched their lead to six points above the drop zone with a remarkable turnaround.
Under Daniele De Rossi, Genoa were down by two soon after the break courtesy of Lewis Ferguson's effort and an unfortunate own goal by Sebastian Otoao, yet the tide turned dramatically via Bologna keeper Lukasz Skorupski's absurd sending-off.
Skorupski dashed out to intercept but missed the ball entirely, instead fouling Vitinha with a wild swing, leaving his side short-handed for the final half hour.
Genoa capitalised with a trio of superb strikes, kicking off with Ruslan Malinovskiy's blistering free-kick on the 62nd minute and capping it in added time via Junior Messias's exquisite long-range curler.