Juventus Women needed to win away at Napoli to respond to Roma's win earlier in the day, and the Bianconere did exactly that for their eighth Serie A win of the season.
The game didn't come without complications for Joe Montemurro and his side though, losing Julia Grosso to injury in the opening minutes and then falling behind, but the comeback was made possible by an excellent Arianna Caruso, all while playing with the Fondazione Libellula logo on the shirt sleeve on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
How the game went...
The game started in the worst possible way for Juventus, before even having a chance to have a shot on goal, as Julia Grosso being forced off through injury. Ella Palis was sent on in her place.
Then, and after just 12 minutes, the hosts went ahead through Valentina Gallazzi as she pounced on a loose ball in the area to finish past Pauline Peyraud-Magnin.
Midway through the first half, Napoli looked to make the most of dead balls, seemingly happy to leave Juventus in possession of the ball for the most part. When in the final third, the Bianconere lacked the precision required to really cause problems for former Juventus goalkeeper Doris Bacic in goal for the Azzurre.
The game's turning point came shortly after the half-hour mark, through a familiar source in Arianna Caruso. Picking the ball up to the left of the box, Caru looked set to put a cross into the area, but instead lofted it over Bacic's head, under the crossbar and into the back of the net in stunning style.
But there was more work to be done, even in the first half. Lindsey Thomas went to ground in the area but the referee didn't deem it worthy of awarding a penalty, but four minutes later Thomas was brought to ground by Alice Pellinghelli and a spot-kick was awarded. Without Cristiana Girelli, Caruso assumed the responsibility and emphatically fired into the back of the net to send the Bianconere in at the break with a narrow lead.
Juventus kept probing, and Lineth Beerensteyn got in behind Napoli in the 64th minute, initially going around the goalkeeper but having her angle at goal closed down too much. Working her way back in, she had her effort saved.
The third goal eventually came in the 94th minute through Thomas. With Beerensteyn again in, this time on the left, she looked up and found the French forward unmarked and Thomas was able to tap into an open goal for her fourth goal in her last three games.
With that, then, the points were taken back north to Turin, and Juventus go into the international break with eight wins from nine so far this season and a five-point cushion above third-placed Fiorentina.
Post-match comments
ARIANNA CARUSO
"It was a difficult game against an opponent that have shown themselves to be hard to beat. We didn't start in the best way, but we made up for that. We wanted to pick up three points and we're taking them home with us. I'm happy to have scored again, it's always something I enjoy, but I'll say it again: the most important thing is that the team won."
LINETH BEERENSTEYN
"I'm very happy to have made my 50th appearance in the Juventus shirt, and of course for this important win. Thanks to everybody for the support!"
Napoli 1-3 Juventus Women
Serie A Femminile - Matchday 9 - First Round
Stadio Giuseppe Piccolo (Napoli), Sunday, November 26, 2023; 15:00 CET.
Goalscorers: 12’ Gallazzi (N), 33’ Caruso (J), 45’ Caruso pen (J), 93' Thomas (J)
Napoli: Bacic, Di Bari, Di Marino (Cap), Giacobbo (79' Friedrichs), Mauri, Del Estal Mateu, Chmielinski, Gallazzi, Lazaro Torres (76' Corelli), Pellinghelli, Pettenuzzo.
Unused subs: Beretta, Cammarano, Kobayashi, Veritti, Banusic, Fabiano, Bertucci.
Coach: Biagio Seno
Juventus: Peyraud-Magnin, Lenzini, Salvai (Cap), Cascarino, Boattin, Caruso, Grosso (8’ Palis), Garbino, Thomas, Nystrom (65' Cantore), Beerensteyn.
Unused subs: Aprile, Gama, Cafferata, Nilden, Bellucci, Moretti, Sembrant.
Coach: Joseph Montemurro
Referee: Andreano Samuele
Assistants: Cerilli Marco, Minafra Giorgio Ermanno
Fourth official: Chirnoaga Cristian
Cads: 48’Di Marino (N), 73' Caruso (J), 75' Del Estal Mateu (N), 90' Di Bari (N)